FRANCE

Last week, as President Emmanuel Macron presented his controversial pension plan to his council of ministers, thousands of union members from the rail and transport sectors ended their six-week strike, citing the financial stress of staying off the job.
Many of the public transportation workers who had been protesting, but returned to work out of financial stress, made it clear they would continue to oppose any cuts to their pension plans.
Other unions have threatened to continue to strike and have joined hundreds of thousands of French citizens who have taken to the streets to oppose Macron’s pension plan.
Last Tuesday, France’s CGT trade union shut down the country’s largest power plant, which cut off electricity to thousands of homes and businesses. They warned they would shut down other utilities, including nuclear power plants, if the pension plan becomes law.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: In a poll taken last week, 61 percent of French citizens oppose Macron’s plan, and over 80 percent reported they are worse off since Macron took office. The president’s party has a majority in the French National Assembly, so passage of the plan is considered likely despite the intense street protests, which are now almost two months-long.