French strike over plans to raise retirement age

France comes to a standstill as workers nationwide strike to protest president Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to raise the retirement age to 62.

PARIS // Many French trains stood still, schools were closed and post offices were shuttered as workers nationwide went on strike today to protest president Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to raise the retirement age to 62. Nearly 200 marches and protests are planned for several cities over a broad reform to the money-losing pension system, part of efforts around Europe to cut back on growing public debts.

In the capital, while some commuters were unaffected by the strikes, others had to cram into overcrowded buses and subway trains because of strikes by drivers. Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Rome's main train station on Wednesday when the overnight train to Paris was stopped because of the strike. Authorities were putting the passengers on buses instead. Swiss national railway company SBB said about 60 per cent of trains between France and Switzerland have been cancelled because of the strike.

The French civil aviation authority, DGAC, asked airlines to cancel 15 per cent of their flights out of Paris' Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports because of strikes by air traffic controllers. Air France said all of its long-haul flights would remain unaffected. France has one of Europe's lowest retirement ages, allowing workers to retire at 60 in most sectors. The government says the reform to the money-losing pension system is an "obligation," given France's burgeoning deficit and its aging population.

Unions say money for the pension system should come from higher taxes or charges on those who are still working, and see cost-cutting in the pension system as an attack on a hard-fought way of life. "At Chatelet, a busy transport hub in central Paris, commuters had various reactions, ranging from anger to solidarity with the strikers to lightheartedness. "I think the status quo should be maintained," said Mary Cocodya, a 54-year old hotel cleaner from northern suburbs of Paris.

Stephanie Larcher, a 29-year-old town planner, from Buressuryvette, in the outskirts of Paris, said she's had to add an extra hour onto her daily four-hour journey. "I find it completely irritating, especially because train workers go on strike for any little thing," she said. "It's already the fourth strike this year." About 20 per cent of French teachers were on strike, according to the Education Ministry. Utility workers, postal workers, dock workers, workers at planemaker Airbus and some hospital workers were also planning strikes.

The French measure pales in comparison with more drastic changes elsewhere in Europe. Germany, for example, plans to gradually raise its retirement age from 65 to 67, starting in 2012. Labor Minister Eric Woerth says the reform will save nearly ?19 billion (Dh85.7 billion) in 2018 and should bring the pension system back into the black that year. The reform makes exceptions for people who have had physically tough jobs that took a toll on their health, as well as people who began working young. The reform is scheduled to be instituted progressively and will also stretch out the total number of years people have to work to win full pension payments.

The Cabinet is to discuss the proposals in July, and they are expected to go before parliament next autumn. * AP