Lower turnout in renewed protests over French pension reform plan

PARIS >> Hundreds of thousands of French marched in a third round of protests Tuesday against planned pension reforms, while new nationwide strikes disrupted public transport and schools, as well as power, oil and gas supplies. Turnout at the demonstrations was lower than on previous occasions.

Train passengers were expected to face more delays Wednesday, with two rail unions calling to extend their strike by 24 hours.

The protests came a day after French lawmakers began debating a pension bill that would raise the minimum retirement from 62 to 64. The bill is the flagship legislation of President Emmanuel Macron's second term.

Over 750,000 people marched in Paris, the cities of Nice, Marseille, Toulouse,

Nantes and elsewhere, according to the Interior Ministry. That's fewer than on the last protest, on Jan. 31. The nearly 60,000 protesters in the French capital marched from the Opera area across the city carrying placards reading “Save Your Pension” and “Tax Billionaires, Not Grandmas.” The strike disruptions were also milder than on Jan. 31.

France's current pension system “is a democratic achievement in the sense that it is a French specialty that other countries envy,” said one protester, media worker Anissa Saudemont, 29.

“I feel that with high inflation, unemployment, the war in Ukraine and climate change, the government should focus on something else,” she added.

Much of the Paris march was peaceful, but there were flashes of unrest; police said officers detained 17 people for “throwing projectiles” and alleged vandalism.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne defended the government plan Tuesday but suggested there was room for adjustments.

“I'm convinced there are points of agreement to be found. I'm convinced that we can improve this text together. It will be through debate, confronting ideas and, of course, respect,” she said, noting graffiti that appeared on the meeting place of the National Assembly, including a door marked with “60.”

If nothing is done, Borne said, taxes and social charges will increase, along with unemployment and lower purchasing power. That would would cost retirees with modest pensions and “all those who worked all their lives, and certainly not the big bosses,” she said.