United Nation: The French government vowed on Thursday to push through pension reform by the end of the winter despite opposition from unions which launched a first major day of strikes. A call for nationwide stoppages by the CGT union on Thursday -- the first since President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected in April -- caused some disruption, but was not widely followed.

Several unions, including the country s biggest, did not take part, although all of them and left-wing political parties are gearing up for a months-long fight over efforts to raise the pension age. "It s the start of a social battle," leading left-wing MP Alexis Corbiere from the France Unbowed (LFI) party told AFP as he took part in a protest march of tens of thousands in Paris.

 "My hope is that this is the starting point." Macron made raising the retirement age from its current level of 62 one of the key planks of his re-election campaign, arguing that the current system was unsustainable and too expensive. "All the unions in France are against working up to 64 or 65 years.

Because it s stupid," the head of the CGT union, Philippe Martinez, told France 2 on Thursday. Left-wing political parties have called their own separate rallies on October 16 to demand pay rises and an end to the planned pension changes.

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 30 2022

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