New Round of Strikes as French Workers Protest Pension Reforms

Tuesday brought a new round of strikes in France as citizens protest proposed pension reforms.

Worker strikes severely limited Paris metro and other rail services, while Air France canceled some of its short and medium flights.

Half of the primary school teachers planned to strike, their union said, while power supplies were down with workers in the electrical sector also going on strike.

Tuesday’s round of protests follows an initial round on January 19 in which more than a million people participated.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government is proposing raising the retirement age in France from 62 to 64 years of age.

Macron said Monday the change is necessary to keep the pension system working.

Unions have said the government could instead tax the super rich.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.