Strikes in France

Strikes in France

The French are known for striking and the government's pension reforms are just the latest reason for taking to the Parisian streets to protest. On Tuesday 12th October 2010, around 3.5 million people took part in the protests against the French President's proposals to raise the age of retirement from 60 to 62 and the state pension age from 65 to 67 years.

These strikes affected the transport system with half of all flights to and from Paris Orly airport, and one third of all flights to and from Charles de Gaulle and Paris Beauvais airports being cancelled. Sixteen Ryanair flights to and from East Midlands Airport and 37 flights in total departing from the UK were also cancelled.

Three national strikes in one month - things are expected to normalise, but hopefully the French will get what they want to avoid further disruptions to the transport system.