France’s pension paralysis

FRANCE was once again rocked by major nationwide strikes as more than a million people took to the streets on Tuesday, March 7 to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to raise the retirement age from its current age of 62 to 64.

The left­wing CGT union planned the strike which took place across several industries in the country, and said the number of protesters exceeded 3.5 million, although the official figure was placed at 1.28 million.

The strike is a culmination of months of unrest and organised protests against the unpopular pension reform, which has faced fierce resistance from labour unions and workers across the country.

Industries across the country were affected including fuel and supplies, transportation including national services, connections with other countries and the Paris

Metro. Strike action continued in many sectors on Wednesday, March 8. Despite opposition, Macron’s government is hoping that the pension reform plan will be adopted by parliament by the end of the month.