Thursday, December 6, 1973

I HE MICHIGAN UAILY

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Thursday, December 6, 1973 lHEMICHIQ~AN VAILY
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CONTROL MEASURES ANNOUNCED:

Communist sumnit proposed

France
PARIS (Reuter) -- The French
government today iin :ed new
measures to restr: in soaring
prices in advance of a one-day
general strike today that threat-
ens to paralyze the country.
Trains, buses, power supplies,
mail deliveries, air traffic,
broadcasting, newspapers and en-
tertainment will be severely hit
by the strike, called by Frances
powerful left-wing unions in pro-
test against the runaway prices.
SEEKING TO EASE the dis-
content, finance minister Valery
Destaing announced an anti-infla-
tion package based on sharp
credit restrictions, a tightening
of price controls and a slow-
down in public spending.
The price-dampening m o v e s
were approved by the cabinet as
the railwaymen jumped the gun
for tomorrow's strike. They stop-
ped work early this morning,
leaving only one out of every
four scheduled trains running.
The strike threatens to be the
most widespread shutdown of
the French economy since sim-
ilar stoppages in 1968, a year
the government faced a stu-
dent-worker uprising.
THE MAIN thrust of the mea-
sures announced by Destaing
was to reduce the money in cir-
culation. He proposed a ban on
rent increases, imposed a ceil-
ing on dividend payments and or-
dered income tax payments to
be brought forward.
He also announced a 100 mil-
lion cut in state expenditure.
News that prices rose in Oc-
tober by 1.1 per cent - high-
est monthly increase for f i v e
years - sustained the unions
in their strike call.

threatened by huge strike

BUT DEST\ING, applying yes-
terday's overill common m'Irket
agreement on fighting inflation,
warned today that the strike was
more likely to precipitate a
crisis than to ward it off.
"We are entering difficult
times," he said in a statement to
the press. This is due to two
events coinciding: The slowdown
in world economic activity and
the world oil crisis."
He said that France was not
isolated from the oil crisis how-
ever privileged a position it en-

j "d with the Arabs. The crisis
mnst therefore rub off against
France, he argued.
HIS WARNING came amid re-
ports that the giant French car
firm Citrogen will halt production
for a week from December 24
because of the deteriorating en-
ergy situation.
The big problem facing of-
fice and shopworkers here to-
morrow will be getting to work.
Bus, Metro and commuter ser-
vices in the Paris area w i 1 1
mostly be cancelled, forcing hun-

dreds of thousands of people to
use their private cars and con-
tribute to inevitable traffic jams.
THE STATE-RUN airlines Air
France and Air Inter said domes-
tic flights will be cut by about
half.
No newspapers except the Gaul-
list Party Daily "La Nation"
will be published and the state-
controlled broadcasting system
announced that television a n d
radio services will consist of lit-
tle more than recorded music.

MOSCOW (Reuter) - The So-f
viet Communist Party has propos-
ed a world communist conference
next year, Party sources said
here.
The Soviet Party has passed its
proposals to communist parties
throughout the world, the sources
said.
A MAJOR AIM of the confer-
ence would be to assert the Soviet
Union's claims to political leader-
ship of the third world, at the
same time blocking China's rival
claims.
The communist summit would
adopt a charter for the conduct of
world affairs, extending detente in

Europe and between Moscow and
Washington, to all regions.
Previous world communist con-
ferences were held in 1957, and
1969.
nUT REACTION to the l test
c ll is likely to be sharply divid-
ed through the world commun-
ist movement, the sources said.
The Soviet proposal is to be dis-
cussed at a coming gathering of
West European communist par-
ties, communist sources said.
Moscow is thought to be the
most suitable center for the con-
ference, since the Soviet Party
regards itself as father of the
world movement. But some west-

ern parties would prefer a change
to another communist capital.
CHINA IS BELIEVED to have
been included in the invitations,
but it is likely that Peking will ig-
nore the proposal, as it did during
the 1969 Moscow summit.
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I

Drunk drivers
add color to
our highways.

Nothing adds color to our high-
ways like a car crash.
And drunk drivers are involved
in at least 800,000 crashes a year.
And drunk drivers are involved
in the killing of at least 25,000
people a year.
Highways don't have to be this
colorful.
It's up to you.
Drunk drivers, problem drinkers
and abusive drinkers may be
sick and need your help.
But first we've got to get them
off the road.
For their sake and yours.
Do something. Get in touch
with the National Safety Coun-