A launching ceremony for the new Israeli ship, the Moledet, scheduled for last night, was canceled because of a strike at the shipyard in Nantes.
A group of 150 workers demonstrated at the yard gates, asking for a special pay supplement for the launching ceremony, forcing its cancelation. The ceremony took place symbolically in one of the city’s restaurants and was addressed by the Israel Ambassador to Paris, Walter Eytan. Mrs. Eytan had been scheduled to perform the traditional act of smashing a bottle against the ship’s hull.
Mr. Gilbert Grandval, French Secretary General for the Merchant Navy, who was to have been present at the launching ceremony, was one of several hundred guests surprised by the last-minute strike action.
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