France Protests: 615k Protesters Take Part in Rallies against Gov’t Pension Reform

By Staff, Agencies

Hundreds of thousands of protesters hit French streets Tuesday in a pension reform standoff that has sparked nearly two weeks of crippling transport strikes, with the government vowing it will not give in to union demands to drop the overhaul.

Teachers, hospital workers and other public employees joined transport workers for the third day of marches since the dispute began on December 5.

The interior ministry said about 615,000 people took part in more than 100 rallies countrywide, including 76,000 in Paris.

The Eiffel Tower was closed because of the protest and police were on high alert - wary of a repeat of earlier marches when shops were vandalized and vehicles set on fire.

The hardline CGT union said electricity workers had cut power to some 50,000 homes near Bordeaux and 40,000 in Lyon overnight as part of the protest, warning that bigger cuts could follow.

The government has insisted it will push through a single points-based pension system and end the current patchwork of 42 separate schemes that offer early retirement to many in the public sector.

It says the new system will be fairer and more transparent, improving pensions for women and low earners in particular.

"My determination, and that of the government and the majority, is total," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told parliament on the eve of fresh talks with unions.

Critics say the changes could force millions of people to work beyond the official retirement age of 62 - one of the lowest in Europe - by setting a "pivot age" of 64 that would ensure a full pension.