France braces for nationwide strike against Macron's pension reform

Trains will grind to a halt in France, classrooms will be shut, and businesses will be disrupted as workers walk off their jobs in an attempt to derail a planned pension reform that would see the retirement age pushed up by two years to 64.

The nationwide day of strikes and protests on Thursday is a major test for President Emmanuel Macron, but also for the unions.

Opinion polls show French voters overwhelmingly reject a reform that the government says is vital to ensure the pension system does not go bust.

The challenge for unions, which are far less powerful in France than they used to be, is whether they can transform that opposition to the reform — and anger with a cost-of-living crisis — into a mass social protest that would last beyond Thursday and eventually get the government to back-track.

"Inflation, working conditions, pensions ... (people) are fed up with all this and that's why we think many will join us," said Simone Legendre, a member of the CFE-CGC union that represents white-collar workers.

For Macron, what is at stake is his reformist credentials, both at home and with his European Union peers, as well as keeping public spending in check.

READ MORE: What makes Macron’s pension reform bid tricky?

Pension system's viability

Pushing back the retirement age by two years and extending the pay-in period would yield an additional $19.1 billion in annual pension contributions, allowing the system to break even by 2027, according to Labour Ministry estimates.

Unions argue there are other ways to ensure the viability of the pension system.

Government spokesperson Oliver Veran said the cabinet was "calm, determined" ahead of the strike and urged workers not to paralyse the country.

Unions have described the day as a starting point, with more strikes and protests to follow.

"What nobody can know, and even the unions don't know is whether French people are cross enough to ... block the country," said Sciences Po professor Bruno Palier.

The reform still needs to go through parliament, where Macron has lost his absolute majority but is hoping to get it adopted with the support of conservatives.

READ MORE: French oil workers' union calls for strikes over pensions

'No to 64'

Public transport will be severely disrupted on Thursday.

Only between one-in-three and one-in-five high-speed TGV lines will be operating, with barely any local or regional trains running, the SNCF rail operator said.

Some 7 out of 10 primary school teachers have said they will strike, their main union said, while no refined oil products will be shipped from the TotalEnergies' refinery in Dunkirk as refinery workers join the action.

"There's nothing good in this reform," said Rozenn Cros, in the southern French city of Cannes, as she and other teachers prepared for the strike, with banners including "No to 64."

France's hardline CGT union has threatened to cut off electricity supplies to lawmakers and billionaires, while the country's interior minister said 10,000 police would be on the streets to try and make sure the protests do not turn violent.

"I do not know if the demonstrations will gather many people, but we do the preparations, and tomorrow [Thursday], more than 10,000 police officers, including 3,500 in Paris, will be around to ensure security," the minister said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Macron and several of his ministers will be in Barcelona on Thursday for a meeting with the Spanish government.