FRANCE – Nationwide strike
Most educational and medical institutions across the country were closed on Thursday, with many workers in the transport, energy, construction and oil refining industries absent from work, Reuters reported. Workers are protesting against an increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Rallies have been announced in more than two hundred cities across the country. Unions have promised to bring some two million French workers to the streets. The country’s security forces are on heightened alert.
The nationwide day of strikes and protests is a serious test for President Emmanuel Macron, according to the newspaper. The president says his unpopular reform is important for the stability of the pension system.
The retirement age is proposed to be raised from the current age of 62 to 64, and the compulsory work experience to 43. The reform also envisages the elimination of special pension regimes in France, which allow certain categories of workers to retire earlier than others.
Data source: Evening Telegram
