On this day, 26 February 1906, orange carriers in the town of Cerbère, France, on the border with Spain went on strike, in the first recorded strike in the country by entirely women workers. Oranges at the time were the only luxury winter fruit in much of Europe, which arrived in France by train. They then had to be carried in bags of 15-20 kg by women workers onto other trains which would transport them elsewhere across the continent.
The orange carriers had been promised a 25 centime pay increase in 1903, which had not materialised. So on February 26, they eventually decided to stop work, with 175 of the 190 workers joining the strike. The few scabs were unable to unload most of the trains, so traffic to the border was completely blocked by the action, and so employers agreed to implement pay increase after just 24-hours.
In the wake of the victory, the women formed their own union, and continued to organise, winning other disputes later that year.
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