Paris/London
CNN
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French schools and transportation networks were heavily disrupted Tuesday for the second time this month, as unions staged another mass strike against government plans to raise the retirement age for most workers.
Unions and opposition parties called for people to protest in major cities, hoping for a repeat of the first major demonstration against the plans on January 19, when more than 1 million people took part. Strikes that day brought the transportation network to a standstill and shuttered the Eiffel Tower to visitors.
In Paris, more than 100 schools were expected to close Tuesday as 60% of teachers walked out, the major education union FSU said on Twitter.
The French capital was expected to bear the brunt of the protests and the country’s interior minister Gérald Darmanin said 4,000 police would be deployed to ensure strikes take place…
2023-01-31 12:34:04 France strikes: Workers bring Paris to a standstill in second mass protest over retirement age reforms
Post from www.cnn.com On Tuesday, a second round of massive strikes and protests in France saw workers from across the country bringing Paris to a standstill as they called for the government to reverse its planned reforms to its retirement age law.
The strikes, which started last Thursday, centered on the French government’s proposed pension reform. Under the plan, the government plans to raise the retirement age for many workers from the current 65 years to 67 years, as well as making changes to the country’s pension system which would require some workers to work longer before accessing their pension benefits.
The proposal has resulted in considerable criticism from unions and workers, who argue that the reform would result in a reduced quality of life for many workers. This has resulted in a significant amount of public support behind the strike, with demonstrators taking to the streets in Paris, Marseille and other French cities during this week’s strike.
The government has sought to mitigate discontent by offering concessions, such as an income top-up for the lowest-paid workers. However these have been seen as inadequate by most observers, with the protesters saying that they would prefer the government to scrap the pension reform altogether.
In the coming weeks the strike is likely to intensify, with more unions joining in the action and more protests planned across France. It remains unclear how long the strike will continue, but it is clear that the government needs to act to address the discontent of its citizens and to resolve the issue before any real disruption to the economy and people’s lives occurs.