PARIS
\nTrain services were disrupted and some schools shut while garbage piled up on the streets of France on Thursday as part of a ninth nationwide day of strikes against a deeply unpopular bill to raise the pension age.
\nProtesters blocked a highway near Toulouse in southwestern France in the early morning and a bus depot in the west, in Rennes, Le Parisien newspaper said. Protest rallies were scheduled across the country later in the day.
\nPresident Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said the legislation \u2014 which his government pushed through parliament without a vote last week \u2014 would come into force by year-end despite escalating anger across the country.
\n\u201cThe best response we can give the president is that there are millions of people on strike and in the streets,\u201d said Philippe Martinez, who leads the hardline CGT union.
\nProtests against the policy changes, which lift the retirement age by two years to 64 and accelerate an increase in the number of years one must work to draw a full pension, have drawn huge crowds in rallies organized by unions since January.
\nMost protests have been peaceful, but anger has mounted since the government pushed the bill through parliament without a vote last week.
\nThe past seven nights have seen spontaneous demonstrations in Paris and other cities with rubbish bins set ablaze and scuffles with police.
\nLabor unions said Thursday\u2019s day of strikes and protests would draw huge crowds against what they described as Macron\u2019s \u201cscorn\u201d and \u201clies.\u201d
\nLaurent Berger, the head of France\u2019s biggest union, the moderate CFDT, told BFM TV the government must withdraw the pension law.
\nThe latest wave of protests represents the most serious challenge to the president\u2019s authority since the \u201cYellow Vest\u201d revolt four years ago. Polls show a wide majority of French opposed to the pension legislation as well as the government\u2019s decision to push it through parliament without a vote.
\nLabor Minister Olivier Dussopt said the government was not in denial about the tensions but wanted to move on.
\n\u201cThere is a disagreement that will persist on the retirement age. On the other hand, there are many subjects which make it possible to renew a dialogue,\u201d he said, including how companies share their profits with workers.
\n\u201cThings will be done gradually,\u201d he said.
\nElectricity power supply was reduced on Thursday as part of rolling strikes in the sector.
\nThe government has renewed a requisition order requiring some employees to return to work at the Fos-sur-Mer fuel depot in southern France to secure petrol supplies for the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS Train services were disrupted and some schools shut while garbage piled up on the streets of France on Thursday as part of a ninth nationwide day of strikes against a deeply unpopular bill to raise the pension age. Protesters blocked a highway near Toulouse in southwestern France in the early morning and a bus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321353,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-321329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n