Empty driveways and platforms on the Gare de l’Est train station in Paris on March 7, 2023 as recent strikes and protests against the federal government’s controversial pension reform are planned.
Christopher Archambault | AFP | Getty Images
The strike motion over plans to boost the retirement age in France caused widespread disruption on Tuesday as trains nearly got here to a halt, many colleges closed and fuel supplies from refineries were blocked.
State rail operator SNCF has warned passengers to cancel or postpone journeys where possible, and Eurostar has advised ticket holders to examine if their train is running. Most metro services have also been cancelled, as have some flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports.
Trade unions are calling on French President Emmanuel Macron to scrap a plan to boost the retirement age from 62 to 64 and to require staff to pay contributions to France’s common pension fund for 43 years before receiving a full pension.
For years, Macron has been attempting to reform the pension system, which, based on the French Advisory Council for Social Security, this move is met with fierce opposition from nearly all of society.
In late January, over 1,000,000 people marched across the country to oppose the plans. Union representatives intend to take two million people to the streets on Tuesday.
Unionists gather ahead of a strike vote at Exxon-Mobil’s Port Jerome Gravenchon refinery in Port-Jerome-sur-Seine, near Le Havre, northwestern France, March 7, 2023.
Lou Benoist | AFP | Getty Images
Eric Sellini, CGT union representative at TotalEnergies, told Reuters that the strike to dam the Gonfreville refinery in Normandy would last until Thursday. He added that one other on the Donges refinery in western France is predicted to be operational by Friday.
Congestion could cause petrol shortage by end of week, head of French supermarket group Les Mousquetaires Thierry Cotillard he saidbased on the BBC.
“Let’s stop France!” the coalition of trade unions stated wa statementdescribing the reforms as “unacceptable and useless”.
Police protest in front of a police station in Roubaix within the north of France on March 7, 2023, the sixth day of nationwide rallies organized for the reason that starting of the yr.
Sameer Al-doumy | AFP | Getty Images
Strikes come as French staff grapple with hot inflation that unexpectedly accelerated in February to hit 6.2% Every yr.
Based on an Elabe survey.
But with the number of individuals taking to the streets dipping in February, several unions called for large, open strikes to precise their opposition.
Macron will aim to have his plan passed in parliament by the tip of next month, but he can also use special constitutional powers to push it through. The latter move would risk a vote of no confidence and recent general elections, which he may risk but may avoid.
Macron’s Renaissance party – formerly La République En Marche! — there isn’t a absolute majority in parliament, but among the conservative Les Republicains support it within the reforms.
Renaud Foucart, a senior lecturer in economics on the University of Lancaster, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” that he believes Macron has a a lot better likelihood of passing the law than when he suggested a more complex set of reforms 4 years ago.
“This reform is crucial,” Alexandre Holroyd of the Renaissance political party told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” last month, citing the dimensions of the projected deficit and the rise in life expectancy.
“It is a difficult reform. Listen, we’re asking people to work more. We understand that is difficult, however the responsible thing to do is to balance the books and be certain that this excellent pension system we’ve will last for the following 40 years, because it has for the last 40 years.”