TENS of thousands of French workers demonstrated against government plans to reform pensions and the 35-hour work week today, but the biggest labour union conceded turnout was lower than it had hoped. The relatively low participation, by French standards, could encourage President Nicolas Sarkozy to press on with his reforms despite several months of protests over a range of issues. “I’m here to make Sarkozy cave in,” said Alex Boulet, a railway worker waving a union flag in Paris, where police said 18,000 people marched.
Union figures were not yet available. The CGT and CFDT unions had called for protests in more than 120 towns and cities against plans to extend the number of years employees must work to get a full pension to 41 from 40, and to give companies more scope to bypass the 35-hour week. CGT, which had set a target of over a million demonstrators nationwide, said it estimated turnout was 500,000. Bernard Thibault, the head of CGT, vowed to resume the fight when workers returned refreshed from their summer breaks. More
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