PARIS, (Reuters) – France’s nationwide strike against a planned pension reform, which disrupted train services, shut schools and halted fuel deliveries, will spill into today as unions seek to force a government retreat on the deeply unpopular policy.
Around 1.28 million people took to the streets on Tuesday in demonstrations across the country, the interior ministry said, making turnout for the protest day – the sixth against the reform this year – the highest so far.
This is a critical time for labour and the government since French President Emmanuel Macron hopes parliament will adopt his plan to raise the pension age by two years to 64 before April.
Looking to pile pressure on lawmakers, France’s hardline unions said there would be rolling strikes going forward that could go on for days, at least in some sectors including at TotalEnergies’ TTEF.PA oil refineries.
“The real fight starts now,” said Marin Guillotin, FO union representative at the Donges refinery in western France.
“We haven’t been heard or listened to. We are using the only means we have left: It’s the hard strike … we are not going to give up.”
