- The reform will raise the retirement age to 64
- Schools, transport networks, supply to refineries have been hit
- Macron: Reform is vital to ensure the viability of the pension system
SAINT NAZER, France, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Striking workers cut off supplies to French refineries, public transport and schools on Tuesday in a second day of nationwide protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to make people work longer before retirement.
Crowds marched through French cities to denounce a reform that raises the retirement age by two years to 64 and is a test of Macron’s ability to push through change now that he has lost his working majority in parliament.
On the rail networks, only one in three high-speed TGV trains operated, and even fewer local and regional trains. Paris Metro services were thrown into disarray.
Buoyed by their success earlier in the month, when more than a million people took to the streets, unions, struggling to retain power and influence, called on the public to participate en masse.
“We’re not driving until we’re 64! bus driver Isabel Texier said at a protest in Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast, adding that many careers involved harsh working conditions.
Others felt resigned ahead of likely bargaining between Macron’s ruling coalition and conservative opponents who are more open to pension reform than the left.
“There’s no point in going on strike. This bill will be passed anyway,” said Mathieu Jaco, 34, who works in the luxury sector.
Unions said half of primary school teachers had walked off the job. TotalEnergies ( TTEF.PA ) said 55 percent of its workers on morning shifts at its refineries had broken tools, down from Jan. 19. Solid fuel union CGT said the figure was inaccurate.
For unions, the challenge will be to sustain a strike movement at a time when high inflation is undermining wages.
Locally, some declared that Robin Hood operations were unauthorized by the government. In the southwestern Lot-et-Garonne region, the local CGT union branch cut power to several speed cameras and disabled smart electricity meters.
“When there is such massive opposition, it would be dangerous for the government not to listen,” said Milen Jacco, general secretary of the civil servants branch of the CFDT union.
Opinion polls show a significant majority of French people oppose the reform, but Macron intends to stand his ground. The reform is “vital” to ensure the viability of the pension system, he said on Monday.
A street march in Paris takes place later in the day.
“BRUTAL”
The reform of the pension system would bring in an additional 17.7 billion euros ($19.18 billion) in annual pension contributions, according to Labor Ministry estimates.
Unions say there are other ways to raise revenue, such as taxing the super-rich or asking employers or wealthy pensioners to contribute more.
“This reform is unfair and brutal,” said Luc Fare, general secretary of the civil servants union UNSA. “Moving (the retirement age) to 64 is a social step backwards.”
French electricity supply was down 4.5 percent, or 3 gigawatts (GW), as workers at nuclear reactors and thermal plants joined the strike, data from utility group EDF ( EDF.PA ) showed.
TotalEnergies said supplies of petroleum products from its French sites were suspended due to the strike, but that customer needs were being met.
The government made some concessions in drafting the legislation. Macron initially wanted the retirement age to be set at 65, while the government also promised a minimum pension of 1,200 euros a month.
Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne said the 64-year threshold was “non-negotiable” but the government was exploring ways to offset some of the impact, particularly on women.
Hardline opposition figure Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a fierce critic of the reform, said parliament would debate on Monday a motion calling for a referendum on the issue.
“The French are not stupid,” he said at a march in Marseille. “If this reform is vital, it must be possible to convince people.”
Reporting by Forrest Crellin, Benjamin Mallet, Sudeep Kar-Gupta, Lee Thomas, Blandyn Eno, Michelle Rose, Dominique Vidalon, Benoit Van Overstraten; Written by Ingrid Melander and Richard Lough; Editing by Janet Lawrence
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