FRANCE’s striking CGT and CFDT unions spoke out on Saturday after their offices were attacked and vandalised by masked thugs.

The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) head office in the Paris suburb of Montreuil was attacked on Friday night by the unidentified thugs.CGT official Alessandro Vitagliano said windows were smashed and the main door broken down.

Only the intervention of security guards stopped the vandals from entering the building and causing more damage.

He said the violence was an attempt to discourage “the social movement in progress” as French workers fight against the Socialist Party government’s EU-prescribed attacks on collective bargaining rights and redundancy protections.

“The verbal abuse and insults against the CGT also help to maintain this poisonous atmosphere,” Mr Vitagliano said.

“We reiterate that only through debate and union action by the mobilisations is it possible to hear the claims of workers and the working world,” he said. “More than ever, mobilisation remains the agenda.”

The attack followed what fellow union the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) called a “siege” of its offices in Paris on Thursday night.

The CFDT’s executive committee issued a statement on Saturday condemning both attacks “without reservation” and expressing solidarity with the CGT.

“Through these acts of vandalism, it is democracy that is under attack,” it said.

“The acts of violence that have occurred in recent weeks should not take precedence over respect for individuals and property, pluralism and dialogue between social actors.”