Paris (EFE).- France faces this Saturday its umpteenth day of partial strikes against the pension reform, approved on Thursday by decree by the Government of Emmanuel Macron, in the midst of growing social unrest reflected in the second night of riots in several cities in the country.
Although of lesser importance, large French cities registered spontaneous protests on Friday evening, which in Paris resulted in at least 60 arrests in an act in the Place de la Concorde.
In Lyon, the clashes with the police were particularly tense and the demonstrators tried to invade the headquarters of a district council.
The discontent of the street, which is being organized outside of unions and parties, has also moved to Parliament, where this Monday two motions of censure will be debated to overthrow the Executive, on the brink of a political crisis that has not been seen since the outbreak of the revolt of the “Yellow Vests” in 2018.
The reform that raises the minimum retirement age in France from 62 to 64 keeps the unions on the warpath, with some entrenched strikes, such as the one for garbage collection in Paris, where thousands of tons of waste are still scattered in the sidewalks despite the fact that the French government has forced certain cleaners to return to work.
This Saturday is also expected a disturbance in the circulation of high-speed trains (4 out of 5 will work), the regional TER (3 out of 5) and Intercities (3 out of 5).
Air traffic should not register cancellations or delays due to the strike, although they are expected for Monday, March 20, when 30% of the flights will be canceled at the Parisian Orly airport and 20% at the Marseille airport (south).
In the energy sector, at least four major refineries will be closed – with the possible impact on fuel supplies not yet known.
In addition, four gas transport terminals are still under picket lines -which, however, allow the import of liquefied gas-, as well as eleven Storengy gas tanks, a subsidiary of Engie.