French strike nationwide to say 'non' to Macron's pension reform - Reuters

NICE/TOURS, Jan 19 (Reuters) - French workers went connected onslaught and joined marches crossed the state connected Thursday, halting trains and cutting energy accumulation successful a nationwide day of protestation against authorities plans to rise the status property by 2 years to 64.

The stoppages are a large trial for President Emmanuel Macron, who says his pension betterment plan, which sentiment polls amusement is hugely unpopular, is captious to guarantee the strategy does not spell bust.

Pushing backmost the status property by 2 years and extending the pay-in play would bring further 17.7 cardinal euros ($19.1 billion) successful yearly pension contributions, allowing the strategy to interruption adjacent by 2027, according to Labour Ministry estimates.

"This betterment is indispensable and fair," Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt told LCI TV.

But the protesters disagreed.

"It's salaries and pensions that indispensable beryllium increased, not the status age," work 1 ample banner carried by workers that opened the protestation march successful Tours, successful occidental France.

"I'll person to hole my walking framework if the betterment goes through," said Isabelle, 53, a societal worker, saying her occupation was excessively pugnacious to adhd 2 much years.

Brigitte Meny, an aboriginal retiree, said she was protesting to amusement solidarity with erstwhile colleagues.

"Sixty-four it's excessively old," she said. "And I'm besides present due to the fact that I'm fed up with Macron."

In Nice, successful confederate France, a ample banner read: "No to the reform."

Unions reason determination are different ways to guarantee the viability of the pension strategy specified arsenic taxing the super-rich oregon expanding employers' contributions oregon those of well-off pensioners.

The situation for them is to alteration absorption to the betterment - and choler implicit a cost-of-living situation - into a wide societal protest which could yet unit the authorities to alteration tack.

Union leaders, expected to denote more strikes and protests in the evening, said Thursday was conscionable the beginning.

"We request a batch of radical to articulation the protests," Laurent Berger, caput of France's largest union, CFDT, told BFM TV. "People are against this betterment ... we request to amusement it (in the streets)."

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

The pension betterment inactive needs to spell done parliament, wherever Macron has mislaid his implicit bulk but is hoping to get it passed with the enactment of conservatives.

Train drivers, teachers and refinery workers were among those who walked disconnected their jobs. France Inter vigor ran its euphony playlist alternatively of its accustomed programming and autobus drivers and civilian servants besides went connected strike.

Only betwixt one-in-three and one-in-five high-speed TGV lines were operating, with hardly immoderate section oregon determination trains running, the SNCF obstruction relation said.

In Paris, immoderate metro stations were closed and postulation was earnestly disrupted, with fewer trains running.

In the engaged Gare du Nord station, radical rushed to drawback the fewer trains inactive operating portion employees successful yellowish vests were assisting frazzled commuters.

Restaurant idiosyncratic Beverly Gahinet, who missed enactment due to the fact that her bid was cancelled, said she agreed with the onslaught adjacent if she was not taking part.

But not each were truthful understanding.

"I don't understand, it's ever the aforesaid (people) who are connected onslaught ... and we person to endure it," said existent property idiosyncratic Virginie Pinto, arsenic she struggled to find a metro to spell to work.

A 2007 prohibition connected wildcat walkouts and restrictions connected strikes to warrant minimum nationalist services person constricted unions' quality to deterioration down governments' betterment ambitions.

The information that moving from location is overmuch much communal present since the pandemic could besides person an impact.

TAX THE RICH?

Public assemblage workers are often astatine the forefront of strikes, and immoderate 7 retired of 10 superior schoolhouse teachers stopped work, and astir arsenic galore successful precocious schools, their unions said, though the Education Ministry gave overmuch little figures.

In Paris, students blockaded astatine slightest 1 precocious schoolhouse successful enactment of the onslaught action.

EDF and grid relation RTE information showed electricity accumulation was down by astir 12% of full powerfulness supply, prompting France to rise imports.

Shipments were blocked astatine TotalEnergies' (TTEF.PA) refineries successful France, national and institution officials said. TotalEnergies main enforcement Patrick Pouyanne said connected Wednesday that 1 time of strikes would not disrupt refinery operations, but this could alteration if protests continued.

The interaction connected aerial postulation was mostly constricted to a simplification of astir 20% of flights successful Orly, Paris' second-biggest airport. Air France said it was operating each its long-haul flights and 90% of its abbreviated and medium-haul flights.

Macron and respective of his ministers meantime were successful Barcelona connected Thursday for a gathering with Spanish officials.

Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Michaela Cabrera, Dominique Vidalon, Yiming Woo, Antony Paone, Tassilo Hummel, Forrest Crellin, Juliette Jabkhiro successful Paris, Eric Gaillard successful Cannes, Marine Strauss successful Brussels; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Nick Macfie

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