France protests again against pension reform

PARIS (AP) — France was preparing for a fourth day of nationwide protests on Saturday against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to reform pensions.

This time, the stops will not affect transport, so trains and the metro in the capital, Paris, will operate as normal.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to support the protests.

French lawmakers earlier this week launched a heated debate over a bill to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64. This is the flagship measure of Macron’s second term.

On the last day of protests, four days ago, more than 750,000 people demonstrated in Paris and the cities of Nice, Marseille, Toulouse and Nantes, among others, according to the Interior Ministry.

This attendance was significantly lower than on the two previous dates, in January, when more than a million people took to the streets. The unrest caused by Tuesday’s strikes was also milder than that recorded on January 31.

The protests are a crucial test for Macron and his rivals.

The government has insisted on its determination to follow through on the president’s election promise to reform France’s generous pension system. But the strong popular opposition will reinforce the efforts of unions and left-wing lawmakers to try to block the initiative.