France braces for massive disruption as utility workers begin rolling strikes

Paris: France on Tuesday geared up for massive street protests and heavy disruption as transport and utility workers as well as refinery staff begin rolling out strikes over President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the pension age to 64. This is the sixth time since the beginning of the year, that French trade unions have called a nationwide day of strikes and agitation, seeking to repeat the large turnout seen on the first day of major protest, on 19 January. Then, more than a million people had marched against the planned pension changes. The strikes are expected to last longer as rail unions called for rolling, open-ended strikes, which could affect all national trains as well as international routes including the Eurostar. Urban buses and subway trains in large cities in France will also be hit. Airlines will be affected with up to 30% of flights cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday as air traffic controllers strike. Road hauliers could stage go-slows and block routes into major cities. Deliveries to supermarkets and businesses are likely to be disrupted as well. “The idea is to bring France to a standstill,” said Fabrice Michaud, of the railway workers’ branch of the CGT trade union. French transport minister, Clément Beaune, told France 3 TV station it would be “one of the most difficult” strike days for travellers since the beginning of the protests. Some students, including at Rennes 2 University in Brittany, began blockading faculties on Monday night. School closures too are expected on Tuesday as some teachers in primary and secondary schools stage a one-day strike. Garbage bin collections could also be affected in several cities as workers go on strike. Macron’s plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 and increase the number of years of work required to claim a full pension are being debated in the French Senate. The president has been left severely undermined on the domestic front after his centrist grouping failed to win an absolute majority in parliamentary elections last June amid gains for the far right and radical left. Without a majority, the government must rely on the right-wing Les Republicans to back pensions changes, but their senators and lawmakers are pressing for alterations. Discussions are forecast to end by the end of March. It is expected that a committee made up of legislators from both houses of parliament will seek a potential deal on a joint version of the text, to eventually be presented for approval at the national assembly and then the senate. But tensions remain as to the level of support. Meanwhile, the French government is determined to press on with the pensions changes, and its spokesperson said there were more pressing issues facing the country than the strikes, such as the cost of living crisis. Public support for the current barrage of strikes against the pension reform is high and has increased since the first day of action on 19 January, new polls have shown. The poll, commissioned for leading French publication Le Figaro, shows that 71% of people surveyed support the current strike action, higher than the 66% who backed the action on the first day of protests. It also reveals that 17% of people not only back the strike but also plan to join the upcoming demonstrations. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.