France faces fresh nationwide protests against pension reforms

By Alaattin Dogru

PARIS (AA) – France is facing another nationwide strike on Tuesday against the government’s controversial proposed pension reforms.

More than a million people are expected to protest at over 300 spots across the country, including workers from the energy, transport, education, and health sectors, according to a report by French news site L’Internaute.

The report warned of massive disruptions in several sectors due to what it dubbed the “Black Tuesday” protests.

Almost all workers from refineries and warehouses of TotalEnergies will join the protests, while France’s CGT union reported that walkouts have caused a significant decline in electricity generation at power plants of utility company EDF.

Employees and students of Science Po, one of Europe’s leading social sciences universities, have also backed the protests.

According to the French Interior Ministry, some 11,000 police and gendarmerie personnel have been deployed throughout the country, the report said.

President Emmanuel Macron’s planned pension reforms, which include gradually raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, immediately triggered outrage from workers and unions.

Another proposed change is that, starting 2027, only people who have worked for at least 43 years would be eligible for full pensions.

Some 2 million people took to the streets of France on Jan. 19, including at least 400,000 in the capital Paris, demanding the withdrawal of the contentious proposal.