Train and air traffic will again be disrupted in France on Thursday and garbage collection in cities including Paris will be patchy as strikes against a planned pension reform are set to enter a third consecutive day.
Opinion polls show a majority of voters oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to delay the retirement age by two years to 64, but the government says the policy change is essential to ensure the system does not go bust.
Workers in several sectors including oil refineries and railways continued to strike on Wednesday and plan to carry on for the rest of the week after record numbers of people took to the streets on Tuesday as part of a nationwide day of industrial action.
This is a critical time for both labour unions and the government since Macron hopes parliament will adopt the new pension law before April.
TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) workers took a majority vote to halt production at the Feyzin refinery close to Lyon, hardening their strike, which had so far only blocked shipments at the site.
