There have been repeated government efforts in the past to slash French workers' pensions. They have repeatedly been defeated with mass mobilizations playing a key role. Now, the finance-induced Great Recession is being used to back the most serious effort ever to roll back French workers' benefits. Workers are not taking it lying down.
French Unions Strike as Sarkozy Pension Debate Starts
September 07, 2010, 12:17 PM EDT
By Gregory Viscusi
Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- French unions struck nationwide as lawmakers began debating President Nicolas Sarkozy's bill to raise the retirement age.
Transport workers walked off the job last night, and most schools, post offices and government offices were closed today. A total of 1.12 million people marched in protests in 137 cities across the country, the Interior Ministry said, while the CFDT union put the number at 2.5 million.
Sarkozy has vowed not to compromise on the key plank of his pension proposals, which would lift the retirement age to 62 from 60. The bid to shore up the retirement system may calm bond investors and rating services in the wake of Europe's sovereign debt crisis....
Under the bill parliament is considering, the age at which full benefits can be tapped will rise to 67 from 65. The government has said it's willing to negotiate over allowing earlier retirement for some hardship jobs and for people who began their careers as teenagers. Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement has a 101-seat majority in the 577-member lower house....
Taxes Sought
Unions and the Socialists say taxes on capital and on high earners should be increased.
"Sarkozy cannot force people to work longer, making them pay more, while having a tax policy that favors the well-off," said Jean-Luc Combe, a 55-year-old civil servant in a Paris suburb, marching in the capital. "If the pensions system needs more funds, he cannot only force workers to pay more. It's unfair, he should also tax capital. He did not negotiate this, he imposed it."
On June 24, the last strike against the pension reforms, unions estimated 2 million protesters while the police said they counted 800,000.
The scope of the strike was impressive, particularly its impact on the transportation sector:
