BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: The barricades are up again in France as truck drivers continue protesting. That has led to major traffic backups in the country's borders. CNN's Peter Humi has the story.</s>PETER HUMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Truck company bosses set up about 70 blockades on or near France's borders, with Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium. No goods vehicles at all are being allowed past the blockades, although passenger vehicles are being filtered through. Thousands of trucks are now backlogged in lines stretching back several kilometers. The haulage bosses are protesting the government-imposed 35-hour workweek for their drivers, claiming the shorter hours will make their companies uncompetitive with rival European firms. And they're also complaining about the recent increase in the price of diesel fuel, which they claim could add as much as 3,000 francs, or $500, to their running costs per truck, per month. French truck drivers, for their part, were meeting to decide whether they, too, should protest about the 35-hour working week. They say it's too long, but want more money to make up for the shorter hours. The truck companies say they'll tough it out until the government agrees to consider their demands.</s>OLIVIER DELMOTTE, FRENCH NTL. ROAD HAULAGE ASSN. (through translator): We are waiting for a specific decree on transportation hours. What we want is simply to be considered on the same terms as our European colleagues.</s>HUMI: So far, France's Ministry of Transport officials say they want to negotiate, and also want the barricades lifted first. And the European Commission is considering fining France for the blockades, which go against the spirit of free and unrestricted trade within the European Union. Peter Humi, CNN, Paris.
Truck Drivers Continue Protesting in France