Reuters. Thousands of protesters marched in Paris on Tuesday (March 7) as trade unions stepped up their campaign to force a policy U-turn by the government on pension reforms.
On the sixth day of industrial action since mid-January, there was also widespread disruption to commuter and high-speed train services, fuel deliveries were halted and numerous schools shut.
This is a critical time for the government, which is hoping the reform will be adopted by parliament later this month.
Looking to pile pressure on lawmakers not to raise the pension age by two years to 64, France's more hardline unions said there would be rolling strikes this time, which could go on for days, including at oil refineries and on the railways.
Macron's proposal to make people work longer is deeply unpopular amongst the wider public, opinion polls show. Street protests are expected to take place in more than 300 towns and cities.
France's leading trade unions have so far acted with rare unity, but the coming days and weeks will be a test of their ability to maintain that united front.
The CFDT, now France's biggest trade union and generally reform-minded, has not committed to the rolling strikes sought by the hardleft CGT, Force Ouvriere (FO) and others.
The government insists its reform plan is essential to ensure the pension system does not go bust.
While Macron's camp does not have an absolute majority in parliament, it can count on the support of at least part of the conservative Les Republicains party.
Even so, the legislation is having a bumpy path through parliament and Macron and his government may yet be forced to use special constitutional powers to bypass a parliamentary vote.
