Country-Wide Protests Affect Every Public Service in France
Voice of America
Lisa Bryant
Paris
11 Jun 2003, 16:40 UTC
A battle over proposed pension reforms is continuing in France, pitting teachers, transportation workers and other public sector employees against the country's conservative government.
There seems to be no end to the protests, which have affected just about every French public service this year. The latest strike on Tuesday drew several hundred thousand workers to the streets of Paris and other French cities, according to police estimates.
Workers' unions placed the number of demonstrators at 1.5 million. In Paris, the protests turned ugly as demonstrators hurled stones and other objects at riot police at the Place de la Concorde. Police responded with blasts of tear gas and water.
Public transportation remained erratic Wednesday. And more strikes are scheduled for Thursday. At issue is a parliamentary bill that would require employees to log 42 years of service by the year 2020 to receive full pension benefits. Public sector employees now work only 37.5 years to receive the benefits. But if the system continues, the conservative government argues, the country's pension system will go broke.
The dissension is not just on the streets. At the French National Assembly, where deputies have begun debating the government's pension reform proposal, leftist lawmakers introduced hundreds of amendments. On Tuesday, far-left parliament members also registered their displeasure by singing the Communist anthem, the Internationale.
During a Wednesday address before Parliament, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said he was disappointed with the political Left.
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