French workers strike over plan to raise retirement age
French workers went on strike today to protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to raise the retirement age to 62.
Paris commuters crammed into overcrowded buses and Metro trains where many drivers were on strike.
Disruption and cancellations were expected at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports because of strikes by air traffic controllers.
Some 200 marches and protests are planned for several cities over a broad pension reform that includes raising the retirement age.
The French government says the reform to the money-losing pension system is an “obligation”, given France’s growing deficit and its ageing population.
