PARIS: Garbage piled up in Paris streets and fuel deliveries were blocked from refineries as workers continued rolling strikes against pension reform, but President Emmanuel Macron refused to meet unions and said the reform must go ahead.

As debate about the reform continued in the Senate, workers blocked fuel deliveries from leaving TotalEnergies and Esso refineries on Friday, while power supply was disrupted and maintenance at some nuclear reactors was delayed.

So far the impact has not been major, as cold weather has prevented the garbage in Paris and other cities from stinking, while there are no lines at gas stations yet as motorists and fuel station operators anticipated disruptions.

But the hardline CGT union at TotalEnergies’ Donges refinery said the strike would continue at least until March 16 and garbage collector unions had set no date for a resumption of services.

In a letter to unions, Macron refused to agree to their request for a meeting, saying that unions had had ample time to negotiate with the government over the past months and that now was the time for parliament to review the reform, whose key measure is a two-year extension of the retirement age to 64.

“I do not underestimate the discontent that you express nor the fear of many French people that there will be no retirement for them,” Macron said in the letter, published by French media.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2023