The American Strike That Never Comes

Europe shuts down governments. The U.S. can barely shut down Starbucks.

Paris, March 2023. Garbage piled waist-high in the streets. Train stations shuttered. Flights canceled. Schools dark. Millions of French workers walked off the job, protesting President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age. For weeks, the strikes paralyzed the country, forcing the government to scramble.

Strikes in France are not unusual. T…