October 19, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 6, 1428

PARIS, Oct 18: France was hit by transport chaos on Thurday as unions challenged President Nicolas Sarkozy with a 24-hour strike, but the government vowed to stick by plans to overhaul pensions for hundreds of thousands in the public sector.

Commuters faced a day of struggle as the rail network ground to a halt, and Paris metro and bus systems were reduced to a skeleton service. Many workers chose to stay at home, or walked or cycled to the office.

Tourists found several Paris museums shut, including the Musee d’Orsay and most of the Louvre, while the Opera de Paris and Comedie Francaise theatre cancelled evening performances.

Striking electricity workers also cut off supply to La Lanterne, an official residence in the grounds of the palace of Versailles which is being used as a second home by the president.

Unions said that three-quarters of workers at the state-run SNCF rail company joined the strike — the biggest turn-out in many years.

“The movement is strong, very strong, and there’s a large proportion of strikers. One can sense the anger rising, and the government has got to take it into account,” said Jean-Claude Mailly of the Workers’ Force (FO) union at the head of a large demonstration through Paris.

Union leaders were to meet on Monday to decide on whether to stage more strikes. Some smaller unions have voted to continue action into Friday, but it was not clear how much impact they would have.

Meanwhile, the government said it will not be budged from plans to reform the country’s “special” pension systems, which are enjoyed by 1.6 million rail, energy and other workers.Invoking social equity, Sarkozy has begun moves to lengthen contribution periods for these workers from 37.5 years to 40, closer in line with other public and private sector employees. Currently some railway staff can retire on a full pension at the age of 50.

“We are ready to listen to the fears and anxieties which are being expressed via the strike and try to respond to them. But the increased contribution period is something on which we will not give way,” said government spokesman Laurent Wauquiez. The protest movement is seen as the first major challenge to Sarkozy, who has promised a root-and-branch overhaul of the country’s economy and society.

The last time a French government tried to change the “special” pensions regimes was in 1995, when prime minister Alain Juppe was forced into a humiliating climbdown by weeks of strikes. But French society has moved on, ministers now argue.

The 16 category-based “special” systems were set up before the post-war introduction of a general pensions scheme for all workers. They are enjoyed by workers at SNCF, metro operator RATP, energy suppliers EDF and GDF as well as fishermen, miners and parliamentarians.

Some 500,000 workers currently pay into the systems but there are 1.1 million drawing pensions, and this has led to an annual shortfall of five billion euros (seven billion dollars) borne by taxpayers.

There was contradictory evidence on the state of public opinion towards the strikers.

According to an IFOP poll, 61 per cent believe that the strike is “not justified”. However, a CSA survey for the Communist daily L’Humanite found 54 per cent in favour of the “movement”.

—AFP