More strikes and protests against Sarkozy pension reform (Roundup)

Oct 28, 2010, 16:57 GMT

Paris - One day after the French parliament passed President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reform, nearly two million people took part in protests against the measure Thursday, the CGT trade union said.

However, as usual, the Interior Ministry had a different count, announcing that 560,000 demonstrators showed up to demonstrate, the smallest turnout since the nationwide protests began, in June.

Regardless of the real number of protesters, it was clear that passage of the bill has taken some of the wind out of the sails of the protest movement. In addition, many families were away from home due to school holidays.

More nationwide demonstrations have been scheduled for November 6.

The street protests were again accompanied by strikes in several sectors. The state-run rail system SNCF said about four in five scheduled high-speed TGV trains operated Thursday, as well as about half of all regional trains.

Air traffic again suffered serious disruptions, with between 30 to 50 per cent of scheduled flights scrubbed, according to the French civil aviation authority DGAC.

The reform is expected to become law in mid-November, after a review by the Constitutional Council, and will go into effect in the middle of next year.

It gradually raises the retirement age for a minimum pension from 60 to 62, and from 65 to 67 for a full pension, by the year 2018.

Read more about France Labour

Read more about Strikes