Frances braces for crippling strikes: Trains grind to a halt, schools shut and refineries are blockaded with 1.4million set to take to the streets over Macron’s hated pension reforms
- French unions promising the biggest protests yet on sixth day of national strikes
- At least 260 demonstrations expected nationwide involving up to 1.4m people
French unions are promising the biggest protests yet with trains coming to a halt, fuel deliveries being disrupted and schools shut in response to government plans to raise the pension age.
At least 260 demonstrations are expected across the country, with police anticipating as many as 1.4 million taking part.
Today marks the sixth day of nationwide strikes since mid-January, and could surpass the largest protests so far, with more than 1.27 million gathering on January 31.
Now President Emmanuel Macron is facing his biggest standoff with France’s trade unions since coming to power in 2017, as his flagship proposal hangs in the balance.
The legislation aims to raise the minimum retirement age from its current level of 62 to 64, bringing France more into line with many of its EU neighbours and the UK, where the state pension age is 66.
Protesters gather in huge crowds at a demonstration today at the Vieux Port in Marseille. At least 260 demonstrations are expected across the country, with police anticipating as many as 1.4 million taking part
The government is hoping to rush through the reforms, which it hopes could be adopted by parliament by the end of March, with the changes slated to come into force in September.
The law also stiffens the requirements for a full pension and would abolish privileges enjoyed by some public-sector employees, such as those at the Paris Metro.
After initially claiming it was intended to make the system fairer, Macron’s government has now conceded the move is designed to increase savings.
Fuel deliveries from refineries across France have come to a standstill.
‘The strike has begun everywhere… with deliveries blocked from all the refineries this morning,’ said Eric Sellini, branch coordinator for national trade union body CGT.
The group launched a similar blockade last autumn that eventually saw petrol stations running out of fuel.
Transport workers are also striking. A fifth of flights were cancelled at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and about a third of flights at Orly Airport, it was reported today.
Thousands of UK travellers have been hit by the disruption, with dozens of flights and trains cancelled and ferries were delayed.
Unionists stand by a fire during a road blockade near Le Havre, northwestern France
French energy workers of French oil giant TotalEnergies attend a demonstration against French government’s pension reform plan in Saint-Nazaire
Protesters hold a banner representing different unions as the participate in a demonstration near the Place Royal in Reims, northeastern France
People hold banners blocking the highway leading to the Roland Garros Airport, in Sainte-Marie on the French Indian island of La Reunion
Trains to Germany and Spain are also expected to come to a halt, and those to and from Britain will be reduced by a third, according to the state-owned railroad system SNCF.
More than 60 per cent of teachers in primary schools are expected to be on strike, as well as public sector workers elsewhere.
The reform would raise the official pension age from 62 to 64 and require 43 years of work to earn a full pension, as France’s population ages and life expectancy lengthens.
Opinion polls suggest most French voters oppose the bill. Left-wing lawmakers say companies and the wealthy should pitch in more to finance the pension system.
Philippe Martinez, head of the CGT union, said the protest movement is ‘entering a new phase’.
Confederation Generale du Travail (CGT) union member protest as they burn flares at the Place d’Armes in Calais
Police stand by a man hold a CGT union flag along the highway leading to the Roland Garros Airport in Sainte-Marie on the French Indian island of La Reunion
‘The goal is that the government withdraw its draft reform. Full stop,’ he said.
‘We are going into a higher gear,’ he told weekly JDD. ‘The ball is now in [the] president’s court. It is up to him to withdraw this reform.’
Some unions have called for open-ended strikes in sectors from refineries and oil depots to electricity and gas facilities.
Workers in each sector will decide locally in the evening about whether to prolong the action, Mr Martinez said.
Opinion polls suggest most French voters oppose the bill. Left-wing lawmakers say companies and the wealthy should pitch in more to finance the pension system.
Meanwhile, 56 per cent of people support rolling strikes and 59 per cent back the call to bring the country to a standstill, according to a poll by French survey group Elabe.
Two-thirds of people in the country support the protest movement in general, the poll also suggests.
Protesters holding placards that read, ‘minimalist retirement – riposte feminist’ participate in a demonstration in Reims, northeastern France
A protester attends a demonstration against French government’s pension reform plan in Saint-Nazaire
Some unions have called for open-ended strikes in sectors from refineries and oil depots to electricity and gas facilities
Some travellers affected by the strike said they backed it even if it made going to work tricky, with only in five high-speed trains running, almost all regular Intercity trains cancelled, and the Paris metro seriously disrupted.
‘Of course it has an impact on me because I need to go to work like everyone else,’ security guard Alex Cristea said at the Paris Saint-Lazare train station.
‘But I support them for what they do… it’s of utmost importance.’
Despite pressure piling on Macron’s government, it insists it is essential to ensure the pension system does not go bust.
Protesters participate in a demonstration in Reims, northeastern France, with placards criticising President Macron
‘I can understand that not many people want to work two more years, but it’s necessary to ensure the viability of the system,’ Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told France 5 TV.
While Macron’s camp does not have an absolute majority in parliament, it can count on the support of at least part of the conservative Les Republicains (LR).
‘I’m telling Emmanuel Macron to hang in there,’ LR senator Bruno Retailleau has said. ‘If he gives in, he won’t be able to carry out more reforms, it would be the end of his (second) term.’
Still, it is unclear whether the changes will be approved by parliament by the end of the month or if the government will have to ram them through using special constitutional powers.
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