Thousands of private-sector workers worried by rising unemployment joined protests in 100 French towns and cities this week as discontent with the centre-right government spilled over from the long-running public-sector dispute.
Several cities have been hit by private-sector redundancies, with workers accusing the government of backing unjustified sackings by big companies.
However, most of this week’s protesters again came from the public sector, causing serious disruption throughout the country.
The Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, warned protesters that the government would ”not give in to street protest” and would go ahead with a parliamentary debate to hurry through measures raising the number of years of contributions needed to qualify for a state pension.
The present level of 37,5 years of contributions in the public sector will be raised to 40, a move which workers’ representatives believe will in effect end the right to retire at 60 with a full allowance.
But railwaymen have been told that they can still retire at 55, a concession probably inspired by memories of the paralysing public transport strikes over the same issue in 1997.
There are signs that the government has been particularly shaken by the action by teachers. The teachers object to both retirement reforms and decentralisation plans, which unions fear will lead to regional educational inequality.
In an attempt to contain action which threatens end-of-term school and university tests, Raffarin has postponed moves to increase regional responsibility until the autumn.
Meanwhile, Austria was engulfed in a huge strike on Wednesday as hundreds of thousands of mainly public-sector workers delivered a challenge to the government, which is trying to reform the generous pensions system.
The coalition of Christian Democrats and the extreme right-wing Freedom Party wants to slash pensions by an average of 11%, raise the retirement age and phase out early retirement. — Â