JANUARY 4, 2002

Prost men and women picket ministry

More than 200 Prost employees will protest outside France's Economy, Finance and Industry Ministry tomorrow, in the hope that the politicians will step in to help the team survive.

MORE than 200 Prost employees will protest outside France's Economy, Finance and Industry Ministry tomorrow, in the hope that the politicians will step in to help the team survive. The rally has been organized by employees and not by team boss Alain Prost, who has failed to find any support from French government sources. The minister, former Prime Minister, Laurent Fabius is a Socialist and Prost has long had links with the rival Republicans.

Fabius is unlikely to do much to help Prost as the government now looks upon the Renault Sport team as France's representative in F1. Fabius and Renault boss Louis Schweitzer worked together in the Health Ministry in the early 1990s.