Port of Bordeaux: strike call for 30 October, check cargo handling
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Bordeaux is affected by a call for a 24-hour port strike. A national forecast does not tell us the activity of each terminal.
In this article
The call to mobilise
According to Bouger à Bordeaux, the FNPD-CGT is calling on port workers to a 24-hour strike on 30 October. Bordeaux, Bayonne and La Rochelle are among those concerned. The call is part of an international mobilisation.
The demands
The union opposes the militarisation of ports and asks for the protection of jobs and qualifications. The effects of automation are also among the demands. These are the positions of the strike’s organisers.
Several port sites
The port officially presents seven terminals, with different locations and traffic. The quays in the city centre therefore do not sum up its activity. Dockers handle, among other things, the loading and unloading of ships.
Checking the consequences
A scheduled call at port does not guarantee that all cargo handling will be carried out. The companies concerned should ask the port and the carriers. We do not confirm here either a stoppage of all terminals or a stoppage of urban transport.
Learn the grammar
French grammar
Learn sentence patterns and usage from the article’s own sentences.
01Negation and its scope
ne / n’ … pas · ne … plus
Une prévision nationale ne permet pas de connaître l’activité de chaque terminal.Key pointsNormally ne and pas wrap the verb. Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. Check which part of the sentence the negation covers. Ne … plus means “no longer”.
02Citing a source with selon
selon + noun / organisation
Selon Bouger à Bordeaux, la FNPD-CGT appelle les travailleurs portuaires à une grève de 24 heures le 30 octobre.Key pointsSelon means “according to”. Put a person or organisation after it as the source. It separates facts the writer checked directly from what another body or report said. Citing a source does not turn a forecast into an accomplished fact.
03The construction il s’agit de
il s’agit de + noun / infinitive
Il s’agit des positions des organisateurs de la grève.Key pointsIt explains what something is about: “it is a matter of…”. The il is not a particular man but a formal subject of this construction. The negative il ne s’agit pas de means “this is not about…”.
04The present of être
est / sont + complement
Bordeaux est concerné par un appel à une grève portuaire de 24 heures.Key pointsEst is third-person singular and sont third-person plural of être. They express “is / are” — a state or description. If a past participle follows, it is a different structure such as the passive, so check the words that follow.
05Dates and their prepositions
le + 日付 / du … au …
Selon Bouger à Bordeaux, la FNPD-CGT appelle les travailleurs portuaires à une grève de 24 heures le 30 octobre.Key pointsLe 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.
06Devoir: obligation or probability
doit / doivent / devrait + infinitive
Les entreprises concernées doivent se renseigner auprès du port et des transporteurs.Key pointsDevoir + infinitive means “must”, but depending on context it can also mean “is expected to”. Devrait is conditional. In the news, judge from the context whether it is an obligation or a forecast.
Japanese grammar
Understand the structure and usage from the text.
01Citing a source: によると
noun + によると
Bouger à Bordeauxによると、港湾労働者の労組FNPD-CGTは、30日に24時間のストライキを呼びかけています。Key pointsAs in “LCPによると”, it shows where the information comes from. What that source reported follows. It is used differently from “私にとって”, which gives one’s own opinion.
02Polite negation and plain form
〜ではありません / 〜ではない
これらはストライキを呼びかけた側の要求であり、港湾運営者の説明と同一ではありません。Key pointsThey negate a noun and similar content. “ではありません” is the polite form and “ではない” the plain form. “成立ではありません” shows that it cannot be said to have been concluded.
03Cause or purpose with ため
〜ため / 〜ために
扱う貨物や場所が異なるため、市中心部の川岸だけを見て港全体の状況は判断できません。Key pointsため is used for both reason and purpose. “成立ではないため” is a reason and “運転手を守るため” a purpose. Decide from the whole sentence whether what precedes is a cause or a goal.
04Giving examples with など
noun / expression + など
ボルドー、バイヨンヌ、ラ・ロシェルなどが対象です。Key points“暴言など” gives “abusive language” as one example. It is not necessarily a closed list of only the things named. It also helps when reading the scope of a news story.
05Quoting with と: content and report
plain-form sentence + と + verbe de parole (報じる, 説明する…)
国際的な行動の一環とされています。Key pointsと takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.
06Treating a clause like a noun with こと
plain-form sentence + こと + particle
この記事では、全ターミナルが停止したことや、市内交通が止まったことは確認していません。Key points“〜すること” treats an action or content like a noun. The particle after it (が・を・は…) shows its role in the sentence. “ことができる” is a fixed combination meaning “can”.