Strike against pension reform: Railways, schools, energy sector hit in France

Paris, Jan 31 (IANS) Transport, schools and energy sector were hit in France on Tuesday due to nation-wide protests against President Emmanuel Macron's plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, media reports said.Eight unions participating in the strike claimed that half of the country's teachers had joined the strike, BBC reported.In Paris, only one of the three high-speed trains were running and only two driverless metro lines were operating normally. A sea of people were reported on one of the main overground lines in the capital.Reduced power production was reported after workers of the state owned EDF went on strike."Any kind of reform that is going to ask people to work longer will be unpopular, but we've been elected on this reform," BBC quoted Christopher Weissberg, an MP in President Macron's Renaissance party, as saying. He said: "France has a universal system which has to pay for itself. If not, it's weakening and if it's weakening, at some point, people will lose their pension."Retirement age in France is lower as compared to Spain 65 and the UK 66.
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