After weeks of protests, unions counted over 300 marches across France on Tuesday. A massive nationwide strike against French President Emmanuel Macron, estimated 1.28 million people, took place to say no to the plan to push the retirement age ftom 62 to 64. The demonstrations were some of the biggest in decades. There were some clashes on the margins of the Paris rally, 22 people had been arrested. The plan of Macron’s government is set to be adopted by parliament by the end of the month. “The real fight starts now,” said Marin Guillotin, FO union representative at the Donges refinery in western France.
For the sixth time since the start of the year, trade unions called a nationwide day of strikes and demonstrations. Local urban buses were affected. Trains are disrupted in France and also the Paris metro system. Many schools closed. Fuel deliveries from refineries across France had been blocked from Tuesday morning, On the other part, the government says pensions of the poorest 30 percent of the population will increase by 2.5 to 5 percent. Since the introduction of the 35-hour workweek, the French have become less enthusiastic about the importance of their jobs and less proud of their companies.
