FRENCH STRIKE DISRUPTS TRANSPORT SERVICES, CLOSES EIFFEL TOWER

Thu 29 September 2022:

As thousands of workers went on strike on Thursday to call for a pay increase and oppose the government’s proposed pension reforms, transportation services across France were disrupted, and the Eiffel tower remained closed.

The strike is likely to have an impact on a number of industries, including those in schools, pharmacies, gas stations, railways, and buses. The administration of the Eiffel Tower tweeted that although the monument is closed due to the strike, access to the esplanade is still free and open to the public.

The nationwide strike was called by three major workers unions – CGT, FSU, and Solidaires – which want the Macron government to raise wages to a minimum of €2,000, impose work for 32 hours a week, and reduce the retirement age to 60 years.

The unions have organized around 200 demonstrations, processions and gatherings across the country under the slogan “raise wages, not the retirement age.”

The proposal put forth by President Emmanuel Macron to raise the retirement age from the current 62 to 65 years old is fiercely contested. The parliament is slated to discuss the pension reform bill next month.

According to reports, Macron has stated that if the opposition tries to thwart the bill, he is prepared to dissolve the assembly, call new elections, and put the reforms off until next year.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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