Back-to-back strikes against French pension reform carried into International Women's Day on Wednesday – causing major disruptions to transport in particular – as the government’s bill to raise the retirement age to 64 won a major boost in the Senate overnight.
After a sixth day of record protests on Tuesday, trade unions rallied workers to keep up the pressure on Emmanuel Macron. They also demanded an audience with the President, who they accuse of turning a blind eye to their demands.
Government spokesperson Olivier Véran told RTL radio on Wednesday the President had already met with union leaders last June, with the exception of the CGT, which declined to come, adding that the government’s door “remained open” to future dialogue.
The hardline CGT union said Tuesday’s strike brought an historic 3.5 million people onto the streets on French cities and towns. The Interior Ministry put that figure at 1.28 million, rejecting claims the country had been “brought to a standstill”.
Galvanising women
Protest organisers are using International Women's Day, which falls on 8 March every year, as a rallying cry to highlight the way in which the reform project “further deteriorates” the situation for women, whose pensions are 40 percent lower than those of men.
Public transport remained heavily disrupted on Wednesday, with most Paris metro lines affected and one in three high-speed TGV trains cancelled. National rail operator SNCF has advised travellers to postpone their trips for both Wednesday and Thursday.
Cross-sector unions have already announced a further two strike days on 11 and 15 March.
Parliamentary boost
The industrial action comes as the pensions reform bill makes its way through parliament.
Following a tense session overnight during which leftwing MPs stormed out in protest, the Senate voted to rewrite article 7 of the pension reform bill – a pivotal part of the text that raises the legal age of retirement from 62 to 64 years.
The move effectively wipes out more than a thousand amendments that had been made to the text by opponents on the left.
The upper house on Wednesday resumes debate on the bill, a process that will continue until midnight Sunday 12 March at the latest. It will then go to a joint committee, where seven senators and seven MPs will be responsible for establishing a final version.
Lawmakers have until 26 March to vote on a final draft. Failure to agree on the text will leave the government with no other option but to force the law through parliament using article 49.3 of the constitution.
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