Unions defiant as government claims strikes cost 3 billion euros

Trade unions remain defiant on Monday as President Nicolas Sarkozy's government warns that strikes against the pension reform have cost up to three billion euros.

Police stand guard at a petrol refinery over the weekend Reuters

Speaking to Europe 1 radio, Finance Minister Christine Lagarde estimated that the strikes were costing the economy between 200 and 400 million euros per day.

Lagarde also warned that images broadcast around the world of demonstrators clashing with riot police and of industrial sites blocked by protesters had cost France dearly in terms of its international image.

"It's the attractiveness of our territory that's at stake when we see pictures like that," she said, adding that ongoing strikes at refineries and fuel depots were taking their toll.

The French Senate approved Sarkozy fiercely-contested pensions bill on Friday, and the versions passed by both the lower and upper house are due to be reconciled this week and formally voted into law on Wednesday.

Sarkozy's supporters hoped that the near inevitability of the law passing, and the advent of this week's half-term school holidays, would see the protest movement begin to fade away over the coming days.

But trade unions remain defiant and have called more strikes and rallies.

On Tuesday, students plan to hold a day of protests at universities, and on Thursday labour leaders have called for their ninth one-day stoppage.

This will be repeated on 6 November if Sarkozy does not withdraw the law or open negotiations, but there seems little chance of that, with the president's camp describing its passage as "a victory for France and the French".

Protests continued around France on Monday. Rail travel has returned to almost normal, with four our of five TGV express services running, but several fuel depots remain blocked by strikers despite the presence of large numbers of riot police.

In the southern cities of Toulouse and Marseille strikes continue in the public sector, with bus services and rubbish collection hit.

Sarkozy hopes that if he faces down the protests and pushes through an unpopular reform he will restore his image as a strong leader among right-wing voters and launch a fight back ahead of his re-election battle in 2012.

So far, however, there is little sign of that, with this weekend's opinion polls showing him more unpopular than ever, with his personal approval rating falling below 30 percent for the first time in an IFOP survey.

Sarkozy defends the measure as "inevitable" in the face of France's rapidly growing population and burgeoning budget deficit, but opponents accuse him of making workers pay while protecting the rich and the world of finance.