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Anti-reform protests dying down in France
Nov 6, 2010, 15:35 GMT
Paris - The wave of protests against French President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reform appeared to be dying down Saturday, with far fewer people taking to the streets than previous weeks.
The government estimated that around 140,000 took part in nine rallies across the nation, compared to several million at the height of the demonstrations and strikes last month.
Unions put the number of protesters Saturday at around 1 million.
Strikes and blockades of refineries and fuel depots led to petrol shortages during the protests, but many French people feel there is no longer any point in protesting since parliament approved the reform a week-and-a-half ago.
The reform, which goes into effect mid-November, raises the earliest retirement age from 60 to 62 years by the year 2018.
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