The French government is preparing for more protests, with students planning rallies against a proposed law that will push the retirement age from 60 to 62.
Road blocks at the country's largest oil port in Marseille were bulldozed by authorities on Tuesday and rotting piles of trash are expected to be cleared soon, with garbage collectors agreeing to return to work.
A few dozens of people from the CNT and SUD Solidaire unions blocked a buses depot in Neuilly Sur Marne, an eastern suburb of Paris, on Tuesday morning.
The blockage stopped more than 50 buses connecting the French capital to its eastern suburbs. Police watched the protesters without any intervention.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has stood firm throughout the weeks long protest movement, insisting the reform is necessary to save the money-losing retirement system and ensure funds for future generations as life expectancy increases and the nation's debt soars.
The bill to overhaul France's pension plan is to be voted on this week by the two houses of parliament, likely by Wednesday, officials said after a meeting of a committee that wrote a final version of the legislation to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. It is all but certain to pass.
Steep cost
Besides raising the minimum retirement age to 62, it increases the age to access full retirement benefits from 65 to 67.
The French finance minister announced that the strikes are costing the national economy up to 400 million euro ($557m) each day, as workers continued to block other oil refineries and some rubbish incinerators.
Final passage of the pension reform legislation through parliament this week has not deterred unions, which have already announced two new nationwide protests - for Thursday and November 6.
The demonstrations against the retirement reform have brought millions into the streets, and polls have shown that most French people support the strikers. Meanwhile, the conservative Sarkozy's popularity is plummeting.
A poll published in Sunday's Journal du Dimanche newspaper showed that only 29 per cent of those surveyed were satisfied with Sarkozy's performance. It was the French leader's lowest rating since taking office in 2007.
Read more on this news @
No comments:
Post a Comment