Strikes bring the country to a standstill

France’s Education Union is Changing Its Guards: Why Schools, Trains, Flights and the Eiffel Tower Will Be Shutted

Paris is expected to bear the brunt of the protests, with most lines on the metro running only at the busiest times, according to the city’s transport agency RATP. The main education trade union in France FSU said on Sunday that 120 schools would be closed and 60% of primary school teachers would be on strike in Paris.

At Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports in Paris, airlines have been asked to reduce flights by 20% and 30%. Air France said about 20% of short-haul flights would be canceled, but long-haul services would be maintained. The airline cautioned, however, that “last-minute delays and cancellations cannot be ruled out.”

Four out of five TGV trains would be canceled due to the lack of regional trains and the SNCF said very few regional trains would operate.

When asked in an interview with the Le Journal du Dimanche if unions are moving up a gear, the CGT secretary general said: “I think so.” He also said that workers will not be satisfied with the government until they are heard.

The 10th day of action against the raise of retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64 was on Tuesday.

A record 1.3 million people took part in demonstrations on January 19, which brought the country to a standstill and shuttered the Eiffel Tower to visitors.

The Paris airport protest after the biarritz closure of the Charles de Gaulle terminal 1 is shut down by anti-pension reforms

The government has pressed on with the hugely unpopular bill because it says that relying on the working population to pay for a growing age group of retirees is no longer fit for purpose.

Macron’s government pushed a bill through parliament without a vote last week, after two failed no-confidence votes cleared the way for the pension reforms.

Blocking airports has been a tactic used by anti-pension reform protesters nationwide, with terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle airport, just north of Paris, also being cut off on Thursday morning.

There are videos on social media that show protesters allowing smoke bombs to go off in front of the entrance of Biarritz Airport and the boarding area, before an announcement went over the speakers.

At least four groups can be identified in the footage based on their insignia, including a local Basquec trade union and two national associations – the CGT Departmental Union of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Fédération syndicale unitaire (FSU).

The FSU, one of France’s main trade unions in its Education sector, represents 162,000 members and 80% of them are teachers, according to its website.

CNN has attempted to contact both the FSU and CGT and cannot independently confirm how many people were present at the airport protest or how the event unfolded.