FRANCE REELING: Protests cause travel chaos

Labour strikes upended travel in France on Thursday as French trade unions held their first mass demonstrations since President Emmanuel Macron inflamed public anger by forcing a higher retirement age through parliament without a vote.

More than million marched nationwide and in Paris, tens of thousands gathered on the Bastille plaza in a cheerful atmosphere, many waving union flags to the sound of standard protest songs as they started walking through the capital. Big crowds also marched in the major cities of Marseille, Lyon, and Nantes and more than 250 protests were organized across the country.

Protesters blockaded train stations, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, and refineries. High-speed and regional trains, the Paris metro and public transportation systems in other major cities were disrupted. About 30% of flights at Paris Orly Airport were cancelled.

The Eiffel Tower and the Versailles Palace were closed due to the strikes.

Thursday’s events were the ninth round of nationwide demonstrations and strikes called by France’s eight main unions since January. Violence has intensified in recent days at scattered protests against the pension reform and Macron’s leadership.

On Friday, Macron’s office said that a state visit by Britain’s King Charles III scheduled for Sunday has been postponed amid because of the mass strikes and protests.

The French leader is stubbornly resisting the discontent on the streets, and said Wednesday that the government’s bill to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 must be implemented by the end of the year.

Protesters staged road blockades on major highways and interchanges to slow traffic around big cities.

Train service was suspended in Marseille because protesters were stationed near the tracks. And at Paris’ Gare de Lyon train station, several hundred chanting unionists and strikers walked on the railway tracks to prevent trains from moving.

In Pantin, in the northern suburbs of Paris, several dozen union members blocked a bus depot.

The French government invoked a constitutional provision last week to get the pension bill adopted without the approval of lawmakers. The bill must now pass a review by France’s Constitutional Council before becoming law.