France Grinds to a Halt in Massive Strike
Hundreds of thousands of lawyers, teachers, students and air-traffic controllers protest pension Macron’s pension reform
Cities Paralyzed
French president Emmanuel macron is back in the hot seat over reform proposals. Over 800,000 protesters have taken to the streets in a Massive Strike that has paralyzed cities.
Cities across France were paralyzed by a massive public transport strike against a planned overhaul of France’s pensions system, in a test of President Emmanuel Macron’s resolve to modernize the economy.
Trains, including the high-speed line between Paris and London, subways and buses were severely curtailed if not halted altogether. Hundreds of flights were canceled. Many schools, and nurseries remained closed, while several museums, including the Louvre, said parts of their collections might not open. Even the Eiffel Tower was closed.
About 806,000 protesters—including lawyers, teachers, students and air-traffic controllers—hit the streets across the country, according to the French interior ministry. Unions warned the strike could last days and become one of the biggest in France in over two decades.
Mr. Macron wants to extend the number of years that people are required to work before collecting their pensions—now set at 43 years—rather than raising the age of retirement of 62 years old for all workers. That retirement age remains lower than in most other OECD group of rich nations. Under the plan, some people retiring before 64 could receive a lower pension.
Mr. Macron also wants to consolidate France’s 42 different retirement plans—and their special benefits—into one universal system that he says would be more fair. Civil servants, in particular, fear they may lose advantages they have compared to private sector employees.
Yellow-Vest Movement
Recall that the yellow vest protests went on for months.
On December 10, 2018 I wrote Macron Attempts to Placate Yellow Vest Protesters With Free Money.
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