Strikes over pension reform disrupt France

In France,a nationwide strike against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 has crippled  the daily life across the country. in a second wave of protests on Tuesday, eight big unions are taking part in the strike, which is disrupting schools, public transport and oil refineries. More than a million people, half the country's teachers were reported to have joined the strike. left-wing legislators fighting in parliament against Macron's plans are counting on protesters to turn out massively to strengthen their efforts to kill the bill that that would raise the retirement age.
Opinion polls show most French people oppose the reform, but President Macron intends to stand his ground. On Monday, he said the reform was vital to ensure the viability of the pension system.There was severe disruption to transport, with one in three high-speed trains running and only two driverless metro lines operating normally in Paris. Large crowds were reported on one of the main overground lines in the capital. At 62, France's retirement age is lower than most other countries in Western Europe. Italy and Germany have moved towards raising the official retirement age to 67, while Spain's retirement age is 65 and in the UK it is 66.In France, very few workers have personal pensions linked to capital investments, but there are now only 1.7 workers paying into the shared pension fund per person in retirement.