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French workers ready for long strike to fight pension change

Posted December 04, 2019 6:00 am

By SYLVIE CORBET

PARIS (AP) - Large swathes of France's workforce, spanning generations, will go on strike Thursday to protest the government's planned overhaul of the pension system.

Gathering in Paris, they want to vent their anger at the reform proposals that President Emmanuel Macron thinks are necessary to make the pension system financially sustainable.

Vincent Le Faucheur, 23, will be marching with his uncle, 41-year-old Gilles Pierre. Both work on France's railways and both are ready for an 'œunlimited strike'ť that could potentially paralyze the economy nationwide for days, even weeks.

'œThe older ones have fought for us. It's normal we fight for ourselves and for the future generations,'ť said Le Faucheur, who joined the national railway company three years ago. 'œYes, it will be difficult, but if we need to do it, we will.'ť

FILE - In this May 14, 2018 file photo, a striking rail worker walks on the tracks of the Saint-Charles train station, in Marseille, southern France. France's rail operator SNCF and the Paris Metro say nationwide strikes will wipe out most services Thursday, impacting millions. The SNCF expects that 9 out of 10 high-speed trains won't run and that half of the Eurostar services linking France and Britain will be canceled, too. (AP Photo/Claude Paris, File) The Associated Press

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