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As Olympic officials descended on Paris on March 10 to inspect the city's potential as a games host, a general strike shut much of the country, including subways, airports, schools, bus networks, radio stations and post offices, across 55 cities and towns. Organisers said around 1 million workers joined protests in cities, with many more striking. The unions are fighting attacks on the 35-hour work week, and cuts to public services and pensions. Just two days earlier, 200,000 students had protested cuts to university funding across the country.