French union activists marched on the Paris Olympics headquarters and slowed traffic at the capital’s Orles airport with strikes on Tuesday as they sought to renew resistance against a higher retirement age.
But the latest effort has drawn fewer followers than at the height of the movement earlier this year, and even some union leaders appear ready to move on.
President Emmanuel Macron’s move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 and force the measure through parliament without a vote has inflamed public sentiment and sparked France’s biggest protests in years. But the intensity of anger over the pension reform has eased since large protests last May 1 and after the measure became law in April.
As part of Tuesday’s action, a third of flights at Orly airport in Paris were canceled due to the strikes, and around 10% of trains around France were disrupted. Rail company SNCF expected long-distance trains to be only “slightly disrupted” and the Paris Metro network resumed normal operations. According to Reuters, 250 marches, rallies and other actions were planned across the country to mark the 14th day of national protests against pension reform since January.
A small group of activists from the far-left CGT union entered the 2024 Olympics headquarters in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis chanting anti-Macron slogans.
In the western city of Rennes, union activists marched along train tracks before being turned back by police, according to local public broadcaster France Bleu.
In Paris, thousands gathered along the banks of the River Seine near the golden-domed Invalides Monument before starting their march southeast to Paris. The peaceful crowd waved union flags, beat drums and chanted to demand the repeal of the pension law and lowering of the retirement age.
Mr Macron said the reform was needed to fund the pension system as the population ages. Unions and left-wing opponents say the changes hurt poorer workers and instead require higher taxes on the wealthy and employers.
Laurent Berger, the outgoing leader of the moderate CFDT union, said after Tuesday’s action “we will continue to challenge pension reform, but it will take a different form”.
CGT leader Sophie Binet told reporters at the Paris march that more protests were “likely”, but she also said it was time to talk about other issues such as working conditions or tax fraud by companies.
Reuters reported that former head of the FO union, Jean-Claude Mailly, said he was “not sure there will be any more protests”.
Organizers of Tuesday’s protests hope to rally support ahead of a possible parliamentary debate on Thursday on the bill, which seeks to overturn the new retirement age. Throughout the pension episode, the unions have maintained a rare united front.
Lawmakers from the centrist opposition group LIOT have proposed a bill that would delay the retirement age to 62. Although Mr. Macron’s centrist party does not have a majority in the National Assembly, it has allied with the conservative Republican Party to push back opposition efforts.
This is reported by the Associated Press. This report used additional material from Reuters.