What triggered the French Strikes of 1947?

• A. Increase in production quotas
• B. Bread ration reduction
• C. Unemployment benefits
• D. Introduction of new labor laws

Answer: (B)

Bread rationing directly affects daily life and what families can afford, so reducing those rations hit people where it hurts most. When the government cut bread allotments, workers faced a clear drop in living standards and used collective action to push back, sparking a widespread strike wave. The immediacy of a staple like bread makes this trigger more powerful than policy shifts that affect production targets or new laws, which may provoke debate but don’t, by themselves, provoke such a broad, hunger-driven response. Unemployment benefits, while important for relief, don’t mirror the sharp, tangible squeeze that a diminished bread ration represented.