France

Roads blocked, oil refineries disrupted, planes grounded and trains halted — unions are threatening to shut down France’s economy this week in what they hope is their toughest riposte yet to President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age, the Associated Press reported. The first actions started Monday, as truckers sporadically blocked major highway arteries and interchanges in go-slow actions dubbed escargot — the French word for snail — across several French regions. Unions plan an open-ended strike on the national rail service starting Monday evening.

Strikes in France to protest against government pension reforms hit power giant Electricite de France SA for a third consecutive day after workers cut output at a number of nuclear reactors, Bloomberg News reported. The walkouts reduced production on Sunday by about 4 gigawatts across generators at four plants including Tricastin, Flamanville, Cattenom and Paluel, according to filings published on EDF’s website. The labor strife is also spreading to the trucking industry, with freight haulers planning to block some logistics and industrial centers early Monday, Le Parisien reported.

Investors boosted bets on the peak for European Central Bank interest rates to 4% for the first time after inflation in France and Spain came in unexpectedly hot, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices in France jumped by a euro-era record 7.2% from a year ago in February as food and services costs increased. Spain saw a 6.1% advance. Analysts had estimated price gains would remain unchanged at 7% in France and slow in Spain.

Thousands of people went on strike and took to the streets Thursday to protest French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the country’s retirement age, turning up the pressure on his government as parliamentary debates over the measures intensify, the Wall Street Journal reported. For the fifth time in four weeks, teachers, train drivers, nurses, oil-refinery staff and other workers marched in demonstrations from Paris to Marseille. The protests are aimed at pressuring the Macron government to reverse a plan to raise the retirement age to 64 years old from 62 by 2030.

Public transport, schools and refinery supplies in France were disrupted on Tuesday as trade unions led a third wave of nationwide strikes against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to make the French work longer before retirement, Reuters reported. Tuesday's multi-sector walkouts come a day after pension reform legislation began its bumpy passage through parliament, and are a test of Macron's ability to enact change without a working majority in the National Assembly.

France’s National Assembly will start debating French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform bill on Monday as unions gear up for two more days of strikes and protests against the plan this week, Bloomberg News reported. So far, neither the government nor opponents to the change have given much ground. Macron has pledged to see his program through, which includes increasing the minimum retirement age to 64 from 62, while unions have called on the French to protest in even greater numbers on Tuesday than they did last week.

French workers are taking to the streets for the second time in two weeks, piling more pressure on President Emmanuel Macron‘s plans to raise France’s retirement age and threatening further walkouts that could grind much of the country to a halt, the Wall Street Journal reported. Striking teachers and railway, health and oil workers are staging marches in dozens of cities as a part of a nationwide day of action called by unions to force the government to back down from its pension overhaul.

Strikes coordinated by French unions brought significant disruption to the country on Thursday as they protest against government plans to revamp the pension system and test president Emmanuel Macron’s ability to resist street pressure, Bloomberg News reported. Workers in sectors including railways, schools and energy are taking part in the 24-hour strike against Macron’s plan to raise France’s minimum retirement age to 64 from 62. Unions are leading marches across France’s largest cities with the backing of left-wing political parties.

French unions and opposition parties on Wednesday said they would fight hard to try to derail a highly unpopular plan to make people work longer before receiving a pension, Reuters reported. President Emmanuel Macron's government, in turn, said it wasn't afraid of a nationwide call for strikes and protests on Jan. 19 and would carry on with its plan. The French will have to work two years longer to age 64 before retiring, if the reform, announced yesterday, is adopted by parliament. They will also need to work longer to get a full pension.

France's power suppliers have agreed to offer small businesses struggling with price rises a guaranteed tariff of 280 euros ($298) on average per megawatt hour, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said, Reuters reported. "This is a guaranteed tariff and it is an enormous relief," said Le Maire after a meeting on Friday with energy executives. President Emmanuel Macron had on Thursday urged energy suppliers including EDF and TotalEnergies to do more to help customers cope with the surge in energy prices that has in recent months driven inflation to record highs.