A nationwide strike in France on Thursday caused disruption in the energy sector as workers in the nuclear power industry joined the strike.
The electricity union’s 24-hour strike has cut capacity on the electricity grid at a time when France is already facing a record number of nuclear reactor outages. The attack reduced nuclear power generation by 3.3 gigawatts (GW).
The shutdown also causes disruptions to schools and transport. In addition to asking for a salary increase, unions are demonstrating against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to reform the pension system.
“For us, this is a starting point, the beginning of a movement,” Philippe Martinez, leader of the CGT union, which is leading Thursday’s protests, told the broadcaster. France 2 Television. “We have a purchasing power problem in the country”, she reinforced.
Europe’s cost-of-living crisis is putting pressure on wage inflation as private and public companies face demands from workers to reduce the impact of rising prices.
The proposal to raise the retirement age from its current level of 62 – one of his key re-election campaign promises – has roused unions and other leftist opponents and remains largely unpopular across the country. The retirement age changes are expected to take effect next year.
Macron’s Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told French news agency AFP on Thursday that the government would seek dialogue. “There are important issues that we want to discuss with other political parties, unions and employer groups,” Borne said. “We start from the assumption that we will be able to have a dialogue,” she added.
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