French strikes 'costing hundreds of millions a day'

The protest strikes sweeping France are costing the country up to €400m each day, the government warned today.

The protest strikes sweeping France are costing the country up to €400m each day, the government warned today.

Demonstrations over president Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 have left France struggling with fuel shortages, travel chaos and uncollected rubbish.

Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said the daily economic cost was between €200m and €400m. She said they were also damaging France’s image abroad.

The protests have brought millions into the streets. Open-ended walkouts by railway and petroleum workers have wreaked havoc on commuters and travellers.

The Senate voted on Friday to pass the pension reform and it is expected to win final approval this week.

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