French unions called for "ban the country"

Paris, February 11 – French unions staged a national strike on 7 March, calling for a “blockade of the country” if the government did not cancel the pension reform project.

The bill is expected to be submitted on March 7 to the French Senate. The strike has been declared indefinite, and France’s eight leading trade unions are set to meet on March 8 to decide whether to continue the protest movement.

On Saturday, more than 200 demonstrations against pension reform took place across France, including in all major cities – Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux and Nantes. According to the trade unions, the Toulouse demonstration, which began in the morning, gathered more than 100,000 people, and 140,000 participants came to the event in Marseille.

This is the fourth mass demonstration against raising the retirement age in the country. Previously, shares were held on January 19 and 31, as well as on February 7. The French trade unions announced that the next action would take place on Thursday 16 February.