French streets to protest against Macron’s pension policy

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French streets to protest against Macron’s pension policy

Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to take part in street demonstrations across France in a second round of coordinated strike action against Emmanuel Macron's plan to raise the retirement age to 64.

Transport, schools and the energy sector were hit by industrial action on Tuesday. Local buses, trains and trams in cities from Paris to Nice, as well as regional and high-speed trains across the country, were very disrupted, according to rail operators.

Air France said that one in 10 short and medium haul services would be cancelled. According to the main teachers union, about half of all primary and nursery teachers would be striking.

Police said about 1 million people will turn out in street demonstrations in cities and small towns across France, similar to the high turnout on the first day of strikes and protests last week. More than 1.1 million people marched in the biggest protests over pensions changes in over a decade, the largest gathering since the rightwing president Nicolas Sarkozy raised the retirement age from 60 to 62 in 2010.

A majority of French people disapprove of Macron's plan to raise the pension age from 62 to 64, with most people supporting the protests. The large street demonstrations are the first big test of the centrist president's second term in office, and all major trade unions joined in a rare show of unity.

Macron has repeatedly told French people they need to work more and he has made the pensions a sign of his aim to transform France and overhaul its social model and welfare system. The government has changed its tone to insist that the changes will happen: raising the retirement age for most people to 64 from 62 and increasing the years of contributions required for a full pension.

The president said on Monday night that reform was essential when we compare ourselves to the rest of Europe and that changes had to be made to save the French state pensions system. The French retirement age of 62 is the lowest of any major European economy.

The government has argued that changes are crucial to ensure the future financing of the pension system, which is predicted to tip into deficit in the next few years. But political opponents and trade unions argue that the system is not currently balanced, as the head of the independent pensions advisory council told parliament recently that pension spending is not out of control, and that it is relatively contained. The prime minister, lisabeth Borne, has said that raising the pension age to 64 is not negotiable, but Borne is under pressure to make changes to the proposals, especially for mothers who interrupted their careers to look after children and who could find themselves at a disadvantage compared to men.

The interior minister, G rald Darmanin, used the row to attack the left, saying that parties on the left were only looking to screw up the country and were defending idleness and champagne socialism. Pension changes still need to go through parliament, where Macron s centrist grouping has lost its absolute majority. The leftwing opposition has submitted more than 7,000 amendments to the draft legislation in a bid to slow its path through parliament. The government had hoped to pass the bill quickly with the support of some lawmakers from the rightwing Les R publicains, but the prime minister still faces the challenge of lining up support within and outside Macron's centrist grouping.

The popularity of Macron and Borne had dropped by five points in a month, according to an Odoxa poll for Public Senat TV and regional newspapers on Tuesday.