Drained by COVID fight, some French ICU nurses strike for better pay

Nurses of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on strike gather in front of the Robert Ballanger hospital in Aulnay-sous-Bois near Paris during a national strike to demand better recognition of their work and salary increases amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in France, May 11, 2021. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

AULNAY-SOUS-BOIS, France (Reuters) - Intensive care medical staff exhausted by the battle against COVID-19 went on strike in some French hospitals on Tuesday to demand better pay and working conditions.

The hard-left CGT trade union said the coronavirus crisis had underlined the need to increase the number of nurses and intensive care beds in public hospitals, as well as improve salary terms.