French authorities on Tuesday searched the Paris offices of five banks, including Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and HSBC, on suspicion of fiscal fraud, part of a broad European probe into the dodging of dividend tax payments, Reuters reported. Societe Generale confirmed the searches, declining further comment. The other banks concerned did not immediately reply to requests for comment. The French prosecutors' actions are the latest to hit global banks over the dividend tax fraud scheme as similar investigations have been conducted in Germany and other European countries.

French unions are holding a 10th day of nationwide protests Tuesday to try to force President Emmanuel Macron to hit the brakes on his unpopular pension reform and open fresh talks, Bloomberg News reported. As concerns grow over mounting violence, labor organizations have blamed the government for creating an explosive situation. Marches last Thursday ended in chaos, with hardcore fringes clashing with riot police. Further scuffles have taken place in the days since.

French energy infrastructure from natural gas import terminals to oil refineries and power plants were disrupted on Tuesday by protests against government plans to increase the retirement age, Bloomberg News reported. The labor protests are putting additional pressure on French energy supplies, which have been hit by prolonged outages at some nuclear reactors and reduced gas flows from Russia. A cold snap in the UK — which trades electricity with France — is temporarily adding strain to the region’s power grid.

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.