France: wave of strikes hits electricity supplies and transport links

A new wave of strikes on Tuesday to protest the French government’s plans to raise the retirement age to 64 has already affected transport links and electricity production.

TotalEnegies says between 75% and 100% of workers at its refineries and fuel depots are on strike, while electricity supplier EDF said they are monitoring a power cut to the national power grid, equivalent to three nuclear power plants.

“Following the strike, shipments of products from TotalEnergies sites have been interrupted today, but TotalEnergies will continue to supply the gas station network and its customers,” said the group’s management.

At EDF power plants, strikers slashed loads by “nearly 3,000 MW” on Monday night, but without triggering any cuts, the company said.

Hundreds of thousands of workers are expected to take to the streets across France on Tuesday for a second day of union action that unions hope will be even more massive than the first, earlier this month.

Authorities say some 1.12 million protesters showed up on January 19, while unions say more than two million people took part in demonstrations at the time.

Transport network hit by strike action

Prior to Tuesday’s strike, the government had warned of a possible disruption to France’s transport network.

In the Paris region, metro and local train services are “very disrupted,” officials say. Long-distance trains TGV are also affected, as well as regional trains with almost stationary intercity services.

Rail operator SNCF said only one in three TGV high-speed trains will run on Tuesday, while disruptions are also expected at French airports and on transnational rail services.

But in Lyon at least some bus and tram services were running on Tuesday morning, and there was a noticeable increase in the number of cars on the road as commuters made alternative plans to get to work.

At the Bobigny bus station in Paris, retired Marie-Hélène Plautin left an hour and a half early for her medical appointment, a journey that normally takes only half an hour by tram.

“I have an appointment with a doctor in Saint-Denis for the first time. Since I know that this strike is going to take place, I wonder if I will be able to go,” she said Tuesday morning.

In Bordeaux, Josselin and Alicia Frigier, 40, have just returned from Madrid and after spending several hours on the bus, their train to La Rochelle has been cancelled.

“Instead, they were offered a one-hour train ride and a three-hour bus ride,” said Alicia, while her husband admitted that the strike “definitely has a good reason.”

Mass demonstrations begin on Tuesday morning

The protest marches are expected to start at 10am CET, with union leaders expecting “largely the same number of people” as in January. “At least I hope so,” Laurent Berger, the secretary general of the CFDT union, said Monday.

At the heart of their grievances is a plan by Emmanuel Macron’s government to raise the statutory retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, with a new law due to take effect in September 2023.

To receive a full pension, the government’s proposal requires working for at least 43 years. At age 67, employees who have not been active for very long will still receive a full pension.

Those who started working earlier can retire earlier, while disabled employees can retire earlier. Injured workers will also be allowed to take early retirement, the proposal says.

The current special pension schemes for some civil servants will no longer apply to new hires, but the new proposal would increase the minimum pension by €100 per month.

French trade unions and left-wing parties say the proposed changes are not necessary to fund the French pension system. Some have instead called for higher employee and employer contributions and a crackdown on tax evasion.

They claim the plan will penalize the most vulnerable and increase inequality.