French unions stepped up their fight against plans to progressively raise the legal retirement age from 62 to President Emmanuel Macron’s 64 on Tuesday, as most trains and metros stopped, fuel deliveries were disrupted and schools closed on the sixth day of nationwide strikes.
This is a critical moment for the Government, which hopes that the reform can be approved by Parliament by the end of March.
In order to increase the pressure on lawmakers, unions have said that this time there will be continuous strikes, which can last for days, including at oil refineries and railways. “We will continue until the proposal is withdrawn,” FO union boss Frédéric Souillot told RTL radio.
Garbage collection workers and truck drivers also joined the strike, a sign that protests were spreading to more sectors of the economy. As in previous strikes, energy production was reduced and fuel deliveries stopped. Many teachers have abandoned work and there are schools closed with students blocking the gates.
There are rallies scheduled across France after more than 1.27 million people took part in previous protests in late January. “Together we will stop France!” the country’s main unions said in a joint statement.
Some public transport users affected by the strike said they supported the protests, even if it made it difficult for them to travel to work. There are few high-speed trains running and almost all regular intercity trains have been cancelled, with the Paris metro also being badly affected.
“Of course it has an impact on me because I need to go to work like everyone else,” said Alex Cristea, a security guard by profession, at Saint-Lazare train station in Paris. “But I support the workers, the protests are extremely important.”