{"id":4538,"date":"2023-03-06T14:49:51","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T14:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=4538"},"modified":"2025-10-18T12:07:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T11:07:48","slug":"unions-vow-to-paralyze-french-economy-in-pension-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/politics\/unions-vow-to-paralyze-french-economy-in-pension-fight\/2023\/03\/06\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Unions vow to paralyze French economy in pension fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span> Roads<\/span> blocked,<\/span> oil<\/span> refineries<\/span> disrupted,<\/span> planes<\/span> grounded,<\/span> trains<\/span> halted<\/span> –<\/span> unions<\/span> this<\/span> week<\/span> take<\/span> toughest<\/span> yet<\/span> response<\/span> to<\/span> President<\/span> Emmanuel<\/span> Macron’s<\/span> plan<\/span> to<\/span> raise<\/span> retirement<\/span> age<\/span> threatens<\/span> to<\/span> shut<\/span> down<\/span> the<\/span> French<\/span> economy.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>The<\/span> first<\/span> action<\/span> is<\/span> scheduled<\/span> for<\/span> Monday,<\/span> when<\/span> truck<\/span> drivers<\/span> are<\/span> asked<\/span> to<\/span> block<\/span> major<\/span> thoroughfares<\/span> and<\/span> interchanges<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> slow-moving<\/span> action<\/span> called<\/span> Operation<\/span> “Snail”.<\/span> The<\/span> union<\/span> is<\/span> planning<\/span> an<\/span> indefinite<\/span> strike<\/span> on<\/span> national<\/span> rail<\/span> transport<\/span> starting<\/span> Monday<\/span> night.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> government<\/span> is<\/span> gearing<\/span> up<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> biggest<\/span> turmoil<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday,<\/span> with<\/span> strikes<\/span> expected<\/span> in<\/span> several<\/span> sectors<\/span> and<\/span> protests<\/span> against<\/span> pension<\/span> laws<\/span> planned<\/span> in<\/span> cities<\/span> across<\/span> France.<\/span> The<\/span> reform,<\/span> which<\/span> would<\/span> raise<\/span> the<\/span> legal<\/span> retirement<\/span> age<\/span> from<\/span> his<\/span> 62<\/span> to<\/span> his<\/span> 64<\/span> and<\/span> require<\/span> him<\/span> to<\/span> work<\/span> 43<\/span> years<\/span> to<\/span> receive<\/span> his<\/span> full<\/span> pension,<\/span> is<\/span> currently<\/span> being<\/span> debated<\/span> in<\/span> parliament.<\/span> “The<\/span> strike<\/span> will<\/span> have<\/span> a<\/span> very<\/span> strong<\/span> impact,”<\/span> Transport<\/span> Minister<\/span> Cl\u00e9ment<\/span> Beaune<\/span> told<\/span> local<\/span> broadcaster<\/span> France-3<\/span> on<\/span> Sunday.<\/span> “We<\/span> know<\/span> it<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> a<\/span> real<\/span> headache<\/span> for<\/span> many.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Complex<\/span> pension<\/span> calculations<\/span> are<\/span> central<\/span> to<\/span> President<\/span> Macron<\/span> and<\/span> his<\/span> efforts<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> the<\/span> French<\/span> economy<\/span> competitive<\/span> on<\/span> a<\/span> global<\/span> scale.<\/span> Centrist,<\/span> pro-business<\/span> governments<\/span> say<\/span> the<\/span> pension<\/span> system<\/span> needs<\/span> to<\/span> stay<\/span> healthy<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> population<\/span> ages<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> birth<\/span> rate<\/span> declines.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Opponents,<\/span> who<\/span> make<\/span> up<\/span> the<\/span> majority<\/span> of<\/span> French<\/span> voters,<\/span> say<\/span> the<\/span> change<\/span> threatens<\/span> hard-won<\/span> French<\/span> rights,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> poll.<\/span> Left-wing<\/span> lawmakers<\/span> say<\/span> corporations<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> wealthy<\/span> should<\/span> instead<\/span> pack<\/span> more<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> the<\/span> system<\/span> going.<\/span> The<\/span> bill<\/span> has<\/span> sparked<\/span> the<\/span> most<\/span> lively<\/span> debate<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> French<\/span> parliament<\/span> in<\/span> years.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>It<\/span> is<\/span> currently<\/span> being<\/span> debated<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> conservative-led<\/span> Senate.<\/span> The<\/span> bill<\/span> is<\/span> due<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> voted<\/span> on<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> end<\/span> of<\/span> this<\/span> week<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> upper<\/span> house<\/span> of<\/span> parliament,<\/span> and<\/span> Republicans<\/span> said<\/span> they<\/span> would<\/span> vote<\/span> alongside<\/span> Macron’s<\/span> centrist<\/span> supporters<\/span> to<\/span> raise<\/span> the<\/span> retirement<\/span> age.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>France’s<\/span> civil<\/span> aviation<\/span> authority<\/span> has<\/span> asked<\/span> airlines<\/span> to<\/span> cancel<\/span> 20%<\/span> of<\/span> flights<\/span> at<\/span> Paris’<\/span> Charles<\/span> de<\/span> Gaulle<\/span> airport<\/span> and<\/span> 30%<\/span> of<\/span> flights<\/span> at<\/span> Orly<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday,<\/span> in<\/span> addition<\/span> to<\/span> cancellations<\/span> in<\/span> other<\/span> cities.<\/span> Did.<\/span> Trains<\/span> to<\/span> Germany<\/span> and<\/span> Spain<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> halted<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday,<\/span> and<\/span> trains<\/span> to<\/span> and<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> UK<\/span> are<\/span> expected<\/span> to<\/span> drop<\/span> by<\/span> a<\/span> third,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> railway<\/span> authority<\/span> SNCF.<\/span> The<\/span> far-left<\/span> union<\/span> CGT<\/span> is<\/span> also<\/span> calling<\/span> for<\/span> strikes<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> at<\/span> factories<\/span> producing<\/span> Renault,<\/span> Peugeot<\/span> and<\/span> Citroen<\/span> cars,<\/span> Airbus<\/span> planes<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> factories.<\/span> The<\/span> dockworkers’<\/span> union<\/span> has<\/span> threatened<\/span> to<\/span> block<\/span> the<\/span> port<\/span> on<\/span> Wednesday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Laurent<\/span> Berger,<\/span> leader<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> more<\/span> moderate<\/span> CFDT<\/span> union,<\/span> called<\/span> for<\/span> a<\/span> “very<\/span> strong<\/span> day<\/span> of<\/span> action”<\/span> with<\/span> “so<\/span> many<\/span> people<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> streets”<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday.He<\/span> called<\/span> for<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 250<\/span> demonstrations<\/span> across<\/span> France.<\/span> said<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> organized.<\/span> He<\/span> added<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> unions<\/span> would<\/span> then<\/span> hold<\/span> a<\/span> meeting<\/span> to<\/span> decide<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> next<\/span> steps<\/span> in<\/span> mobilization.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Unions<\/span> have<\/span> organized<\/span> France’s<\/span> largest<\/span> protests<\/span> in<\/span> decades<\/span> since<\/span> the<\/span> bill<\/span> was<\/span> introduced<\/span> in<\/span> January,<\/span> but<\/span> this<\/span> week<\/span> has<\/span> proven<\/span> particularly<\/span> difficult.<\/span> Women-focused<\/span> protests<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> impact<\/span> of<\/span> pension<\/span> reforms<\/span> on<\/span> working<\/span> mothers<\/span> are<\/span> expected<\/span> to<\/span> coincide<\/span> with<\/span> International<\/span> Women’s<\/span> Day<\/span> on<\/span> Wednesday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>And<\/span> on<\/span> Thursday,<\/span> a<\/span> union<\/span> representing<\/span> students<\/span> who<\/span> aren’t<\/span> even<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> labor<\/span> market<\/span> is<\/span> trying<\/span> to<\/span> mobilize<\/span> young<\/span> people<\/span> to<\/span> take<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> streets<\/span> to<\/span> voice<\/span> their<\/span> concerns<\/span> about<\/span> their<\/span> pension<\/span> rights.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> bill<\/span> is<\/span> likely<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> eventually<\/span> approved<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> Senate,<\/span> but<\/span> unions<\/span> say<\/span> this<\/span> week’s<\/span> strikes<\/span> and<\/span> protests<\/span> will<\/span> put<\/span> pressure<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> to<\/span> make<\/span> concessions<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> bill<\/span> is<\/span> expected<\/span> to<\/span> go<\/span> through<\/span> a<\/span> complicated<\/span> legislative<\/span> process.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PARIS (Reuters) – Roads blocked, oil refineries disrupted, planes grounded, trains halted – unions this week take toughest yet response to President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise retirement age threatens to shut down the French economy. The first action is scheduled for Monday, when truck drivers are asked to block major thoroughfares and interchanges in […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[280,9929],"tags":[1501,1502,1503,1504,1505,1506,1507,1508,1509],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/frn.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4538"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4538"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4541,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4538\/revisions\/4541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}