Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Transport chaos as strike against Macron reforms enters day two

Published 12/06/2019, 02:50 AM
Updated 12/06/2019, 02:50 AM
© Reuters. Nationwide strike in France against pensions reform plans

© Reuters. Nationwide strike in France against pensions reform plans

By Bate Felix and Tangi Salaün

PARIS (Reuters) - France faced a second day of travel chaos, shuttered schools and understaffed hospitals on Friday as unions said they would be no let-up in a strike against Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms until the president backed down.

Much of France ground to a halt on Thursday as transport workers went on strike - joined by teachers, doctors, police, firemen and civil servants - while smoke and tear gas swirled through the streets of Paris as some protests turned violent, leading to dozens of arrests.

On Friday there were heavy cancellations of rush-hour trains into Paris and 10 out of 16 metro lines were closed while others ran limited services. Traffic jams totaling more than 350 kilometers clogged the main roads in and around the capital, according to traffic app Styadin, as many commuters took to their cars.

Rail workers extended their strike through Friday, while unions at the Paris bus and metro operator RATP said their walkout would continue until Monday.

"We're going to protest for a week at least, and at the end of that week it's the government that's going to back down," said 50-year-old Paris transport employee Patrick Dos Santos.

The strike pits Macron, a 41-year-old former investment banker who took office in 2017 on a promise to open up France's highly regulated economy, against powerful unions who say he is set on dismantling worker protections.

On Thursday the industrial action brought tens of thousands of protesters into the streets in Paris and forced the closure of the Eiffel Tower and parts of the Louvre Museum.

Union leaders were buoyed by the number of healthcare staff, railway workers and teachers who heeded the strike call, and by the numbers who showed up at an anti-government march in Paris and other French cities.

Macron wants to simplify France’s unwieldy pension system, which comprises more than 40 different plans. Rail workers and mariners can for instance retire up to a decade earlier than the average worker.

Macron says the system is unfair and too costly and that the French will have to work longer, though he appears reluctant to simply raise the retirement age of 62.

© Reuters. Nationwide strike in France against pensions reform plans

Latest comments

Union is a big business. They have to protect their pockets.
Right after NATO gathering, funny!
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.