Labour unions in France staged a day of mass strikes and protests on Thursday against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to push back the age of retirement.
A new bill due to go through parliament will raise the official age at which people can stop work from 62 to 64.
Intercity and commuter train services are badly disrupted.
Many schools and other public services are shut and at Orly airport in Paris, one in five flights has been cancelled.
On the Paris metro only the two driverless lines are working
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Under the proposals outlined earlier this month by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, from 2027 people will have to work 43 years to qualify for a full pension, as opposed to 42 years which obtains presently.
Hailed by the government as a vital measure to safeguard France’s share-out pension system, the reform is proving deeply unpopular among the public – with 68% saying they are opposed, according to an IFOP poll this week.
All the country’s unions – including so-called “reformist” unions that the government had hoped to win to its side – have condemned the measure, as have the left-wing and far-right oppositions in the National Assembly.
(Editor: Oloyede Oworu)
