French Unions Intensify Protests against Pension Reforms
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – French trade unions have intensified their campaign against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plans, with truck drivers and garbage collectors joining nationwide strikes on Tuesday.
This marks the sixth day of industrial action since mid-January, causing widespread disruption to commuter and high-speed train services, fuel deliveries, and the closure of numerous schools. The government is hoping the reform will be adopted by parliament later this month.
In response, hardline unions have vowed rolling strikes, including at oil refineries and on the railways. "We will continue until the reform is withdrawn," said Frédéric Souillot, the head of Force Ouvriere union.
The proposal to raise the pension age by two years to 64 is deeply unpopular among the wider public, and opinion polls show that street protests are expected to take place in more than 300 towns and cities.
"This reform is unfair," said Aurelie Herkous, a public finance worker in the Normandy town of Pont Audemer.
"Macron offers tax gifts to companies ... he's got to stop coming down on the same people time after time."