Fifth day of strikes in France against the pension reform that increases the retirement age

France lives this Thursday a new day of strikes and protests against the government project to reform pensionsthe fifth since the mobilizations began on January 19.

The unions seek to maintain pressure on the deputies who continue to debate the legislative text in the National Assembly, and who are approaching the debate on the most discussed elements of the reform.

In the day of protests last Saturday, the police counted 963,000 people in the nearly 250 marches organized throughout the country, while the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) announced 2.5 million.

On this occasion, the leaders of the main unions will demonstrate together in the small town of Albi (southeast) to highlight that the protest has a national reach and it is not limited to Paris or the big cities.

The unions have called nearly two hundred demonstrations throughout the country. Today’s strike has greater consequences for air transport, with a 30% of flights canceled at the Parisian Orly airport (20% in previous protests).

In addition, a fifth of the flights at the airports of Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, Montpellier and Nantes have been cancelled. On the other hand, the impact of today’s strikes will be somewhat less on the railways. 80% of high-speed trains will run, as will 50% of regional trains, while the stoppage will have minimal impact on the Paris region’s public transport network.

The unions directly reject the two main points of the reform: the increase in 62 to 64 years of the minimum retirement age and that the increase in the contribution period from 42 to 43 years to have a full pension be brought forward to 2027 (it is expected to come into force in 2035).

The Government assures that the reform is necessary to guarantee the economic viability of the pension system, which according to figures from the Executive will have an annual deficit of 12,500 million euros in 2030 without the proposed changes.