President Macron’s reform programme faces breaking moments, as French unions stage mass strikes and protests on Thursday against his plans to push back retirement age
Many schools and other public services are shut. At Orly airport in Paris, one in five flights has been cancelled.
On the Paris metro only the two driverless lines are working normally.
Large demonstrations drawing tens of thousands are expected in Paris and other cities, where police will be out in force in case of violence from ultra-left “black bloc” infiltrators.
Under the proposals outlined earlier this month by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, from 2027 people will have to work 43 years to qualify for a full pension, as opposed to 42 years now.
A new bill due to go through parliament will raise the official age at which people can stop work from 62 to 64.
All the country’s unions – including so-called “reformist” unions that the government had hoped to win to its side – have condemned the measure, as have the left-wing and far-right oppositions in the National Assembly.