In This Article:
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Macron wants to push retirement age to 64
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Strike continues in some sectors after nationwide strike
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Rolling strikes in refineries, railways to pressure lawmakers
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Next nationwide day of protests on Saturday
(Recasts with disruptions expected Thursday, adds Feyzin blockade)
By Forrest Crellin and Benjamin Mallet
PARIS, March 8 (Reuters) -
Train and air traffic will again be disrupted in France on Thursday and garbage collection in cities including Paris will be patchy as strikes against a planned pension reform are set to enter a third consecutive day.
Opinion polls show a majority of voters oppose President Emmanuel Macron's plan to delay the retirement age by two years to 64, but the government says the policy change is essential to ensure the system does not go bust.
Workers in several sectors including oil refineries and railways continued to strike on Wednesday and plan to carry on for the rest of the week after
record numbers of people took to the streets on Tuesday as part of a nationwide day of industrial action.
This is a critical time for both labour unions and the government since Macron hopes parliament will adopt the new pension law before April.
TotalEnergies workers took a majority vote to halt production at the Feyzin refinery close to Lyon, hardening their strike, which had so far only blocked shipments at the site.
CGT representative Eric Sellini said the union, France's second-largest, was now negotiating the modalities on how to organise the shutdown with management.
Some branches of the CGT and the smaller FO union have continued their strikes since Tuesday. Other unions, including the CFDT, France's largest, have participated only in special nationwide protest days, although all the unions oppose the pension reform.
Air transport will continue to be disrupted on Thursday and Friday, Transport Minister Clement Beaune said, with about 20% fewer flights at Paris' main airport, Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle, and a drop of 30% at Orly.
Macron's centrist alliance does not have an absolute majority in parliament. His government hopes to get the support of the conservative Les Republicains, but may still have to use special constitutional powers to bypass the lower house.
The next nationwide day of strikes and protests is set for Saturday.
FROM GARBAGE TO ART
Garbage bags started piling up in Paris on Wednesday as rubbish collectors were among those who extended their strike, while traffic on the French part of the Rhine river came to a standstill. In the Louvre museum, protesters briefly occupied the room where the Mona Lisa is displayed.