Protests in France as unions make last-ditch bid to resist higher retirement age

By OLEG CETINIC and ANGELA CHARLTON
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — French unions are seeking to reignite resistance to President Emmanuel Macron’s higher retirement age with what may be a final surge of nationwide protests and scattered strikes. A third of flights were canceled at Paris’ Orly Airport on Tuesday because of strikes and about 10% of trains around France were disrupted. Macron’s move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a parliamentary vote has triggered some of France’s biggest demonstrations in years. Macron says the pension reform was needed to finance the pension system as the population ages. Unions and left-wing opponents say the changes hurt poorer workers.