General strike rejects pension reform in France | News

Led by the rail transport unions, many other sectors are involved in the strike movement this Tuesday in France, against the pension reform of President Emmanuel Macron, which has been pending in the Senate since last week.

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On the roads, some unions have asked carriers to "stop" to slow down logistics circuits.

In the air, one in five flights will be canceled at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle, and 30 percent of flights will be canceled at airports in Nice, Beauvais, Orly, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Marseille, Montpellier and Toulouse. .

There are also protest actions in the energy sector, in particular reductions in electricity production. On the oil side, the General Central of Workers called for a strike of renewables in the refineries.

The blockade of fuel shipments does not create a shortage at service stations for the moment, but an extension could cause it, even if the tanker trucks are ready.

In education, the inter-union is leading protests in which it called for "to completely close schools, colleges, high schools and services" this Tuesday and the Snuipp-FSU, the main primary school union, announced that more than 60 percent of teachers primary school will be on strike.

The CGT of Garbage Collectors has also joined a strike that could be renewable as of this Tuesday. The strike also risks disrupting other sectors, where unions have made calls. The CGT Transportes, for example, called on platform distributors such as Uber Eats or Deliveroo to stop their work on Tuesday.

For the leader of La France Insoumise (LFI, the main opposition party, on the left) Jean-Luc Mélenchon, "the battle begins today."

According to LFI, this first day to protest against the pension reform represents "an immense confrontation between an entire people and one person: the President of the Republic".

Faced with "the situation of deadlock", Jean-Luc Mélenchon considers that Emmanuel Macron must therefore "find a way out from above", evoking "a dissolution" of the National Assembly, "or a referendum".

"We are in an event in the history of our country with a social mobilization like we have not seen in 30 or 40 years," Mélenchon said. When insisting: "It is a fight of general interest destined to all".

Opinion polls have shown for weeks that the majority of voters reject the reform, which by 2030 would raise the retirement age by two years, to 64, among other measures.