France in turmoil as strikers attack rise in retirement age

• Protesters took to the streets across France yesterday Picture: Getty

Unions staged a nationwide walkout over plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, cutting services on trains, planes, buses and subways. Some post offices shut down, schools were hamstrung and public hospitals were hit with a nearly 18 per cent staff cut for the day. The strike also blocked the Atlantic coast port at Saint-Nazaire, including vessels that feed into the nearby Total refinery.

Civil aviation authorities asked airlines to cancel a quarter of their flights at Paris airports, while only two out of every five of France's high-speed trains ran during the strike, which began on Monday evening and was due to end last night.

Thousands of protesters gathered in Marseille, Lyon, Paris and other cities for marches. In Paris, the crowd marched to drum beats, with many carrying balloons. The interior ministry said that, as of noon, some 450,000 people were demonstrating throughout France.

Unions hoped to mobilise a total of two million street protesters at more than 200 demonstrations across France, at a time when President Nicolas Sarkozy's approval ratings hover in the mid-30 per cent range.

The strike coincided with the start of debate in the French parliament over a plan to overhaul the money-losing pension system so it will break even in 2018. The government insists the reform is essential as people are living longer, and it has urged everyone to show "courage" as it tries to chip away at the huge national debt.

The French retirement age of 60 is among the lowest in Europe. In contrast, neighbouring Germany has decided to bump the retirement age from 65 to 67 and the United States social security system is gradually raising the retirement age to 67.

But unions say the French government is attacking one of the country's most cherished social protections.

"If we need money … we know where to find it," said Guy Gamet, 55, a representative of the Workers Force union as he marched in Lyon, in the south-east of the country. "When it was necessary to bail out the banks not so long ago, we knew where to find the money."

The action in France appeared a precursor to more discontent elsewhere in Europe. A general strike has been planned in Spain for 29 September over labour market reforms, and in the Czech Republic, a massive protest against proposed austerity measures, including 10 per cent salary cuts for state employees, is set for 21 September.

Francois Chereque, who heads the moderate CFDT union, told the RTL radio station that he wanted yesterday's protests in France to "restore hope" for citizens while putting pressure on the parliamentary debate. But labour minister Eric Woerth has said the government will press ahead with the retirement reforms no matter how strong the protest turnout.

The French SNCF rail network said that 80 per cent of Thalys trains to Belgium and the Netherlands were unaffected.