France readies for 12th day of pension protests ahead of key court ruling

Thursday's twelfth day of strike action by French trade union groups opposed to the government's pension reforms is expected to cause limited disruption in education, rail and air transport. The Constitutional Council is to pronounce on the acceptability of the law on Friday.

Protesters in Paris 6 April 2023. REUTERS - SARAH MEYSSONNIER

While rail and metro traffic in Paris are expected to be "almost normal" on Thursday, there will be some disruption to intercity and high-speed train services.

Strikers plan to enforce a twelfth day of stoppages in their campaign to force the government to withdraw legislation which will oblige some employees to work longer if they wish to qualify for a full pension.

The Eurostar and Thalys international trains are expected to run normally.

Infant and junior school closures are not expected to exceed the 8 percent observed last week.

Participation in the last strike, on 6 April, had a limited effect. The interior ministry counted 570,000 protesters countrywide, compared to three-quarters of a million on 28 March.

The trade unions insist that "nearly two million workers . . . demonstrated their peaceful determination" to oppose the law.

Strikes in crucial sectors

Rubbish collectors in Paris have threatened to resume their strike on Thursday. Workers in some oil refineries and petrol distributiuon depots say they will also down tools.

The streets of Paris during the last strike of rubbish--collectors

Rubbish and garbage bags piling up in Parisian streets, 22 March 2023. © RFI/Susan Owensby

The French civil aviation authority has called on the carriers to reduce by 20 percent the number of flights to regional airports at Nantes, Bordeaux and Toulouse.

Traffic at the two Paris airports, Orly to the south of the city and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle to the north, is unlikely to be affected.

The decision by the Constitutional Council will be published on Friday evening.