French Anti-Pension Reform Strikes Disrupt Paris Travel

Demonstrators were marching across France on Tuesday in a new round of protests and strikes against the government's plan to raise the retirement age to 64, in what unions hope to be their biggest show of force against the proposal.

Garbage collectors, utility workers, train drivers and others have walked off the job on Tuesday across the country to show their anger at the reform.

More than 250 protests were expected in Paris and around the country against President Emmanuel Macron’s showcase legislation.

The bill is under debate in the French Senate this week.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Paris, Marseille, Nice and other cities, including Nantes and Lyon where some minor clashes with police broke out.

Unions threatened to freeze up the French economy with work stoppages across multiple sectors, most visibly an open-ended strike at the SNCF national rail authority.

Some unions have called for open-ended strikes in sectors from refineries and oil depots to electricity and gas facilities.

In Paris, garbage collectors have started an open-ended strike and blocked on Tuesday morning the access to the incineration plant of Ivry-sur-Seine, south of the capital, Europe's biggest such facility.

A fifth of flights were canceled at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport and about a third of flights were scrapped at Orly Airport.

Trains to Germany and Spain were expected to come to a halt, and those to and from Britain and Belgium will be reduced by a third, according to the SNCF rail authority.

Most high-speed trains and regional trains have been canceled.

Public transportation and other services were disrupted in most French cities.

In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was closed, as was the Palace of Versailles, west of the capital.

According to the education ministry, about one third of teachers were on strike nationwide.

The government encouraged people to work from home if their jobs allow.

The reform would raise the minimum pension age from 62 to 64 and require 43 years of work by 2030 to earn a full pension, amid other measures.

The government argues the system is expected to dive into deficit within a decade as France’s population ages and life expectancy lengthens.

Opinion polls suggest that most French voters oppose the bill.

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