Another strike on September 23
Unions keep up pressure on government with another walkout on September 23, as 2.7 million people take to streets
TRADE unions have announced plans for another day of strike action later this month to keep up pressure on the government over a controversial pension reform plan.
Between 1.1 million and 2.7 million people took to the streets yesterday, according to figures compiled by the police and the CGT union respectively.
Unions have agreed to hold another day of strike action on Thursday, September 23.
Workers are protesting against plans to raise the state pension age in France from 60 to 62 by 2018.
The CGT claimed 270,000 demonstrators took part in a march in Paris, 200,000 in Marseille, 110,000 in Toulouse and 100,000 in Bordeaux.
Other protests in Rennes, Nancy, Lyon and Montpellier attracted tens of thousands of people.
CFDT union representative François Chérèque said the protest was the biggest seen in France since 2003.
Employment minister Eric Woerth told TF1 that a number of concessions relating to people in physically demanding jobs and to workers who began their career at a very early age would be presented to ministers this morning.
However, he said Nicolas Sarkozy and the government would remain firm on the central point of retirement at 62.
Unions are due to meet later today to discuss their next move.
Photo: Bex Walton/Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons.
