Protests and disruption in France as transport workers start strikes

France faced street protests and heavy disruption on Tuesday as transport workers and refinery staff began rolling strikes over Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the pension age to 64.

For the sixth time since the start of the year, unions called a nationwide day of strikes and demonstrations, aiming to repeat the large turnout seen on the first major protest, on 19 January, when more than a million people marched against the pension changes.

The disruption is expected to be greater and last longer as rail unions called for rolling, open-ended strikes, which could affect all national trains as well as international routes including the Eurostar.