UPDATE - Energy workers on strike cut power of Paris district municipality

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By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – Energy workers on strike in France on Thursday cut the power of Paris' fifth district municipality, according to media reports.

Workers and trade unions continued objecting to the government's controversial pension reform.

An official from the General Labor Confederation (CGT), Karim Abed, on Twitter announced that the district's municipality faced a power outage as the district mayor, Florence Berthout, is supporting the reform plan.

Abed also said a public hospital in Paris was put on free electricity by the "Robin Hoods of energy."

Hundreds of protesters occupied the rails at Gare de Lyon train station in Paris, intensifying the traffic disruptions, the daily Le Figaro reported.

Demonstrators in Paris blocked entry to Charles de Gaulle Airport, ahead of planned rally.

CGT's CDG airport branch earlier on Twitter shared photos and videos of the protest which started in the morning, against the government's pension reform.

Protesters in the videos can be seen blocking the entry of Terminal 1.

Youth groups and students also mobilized in front of the university buildings in various cities, including Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon, and Rennes, blocking entry to the faculties, Le Figaro noted.

Trade unions in France launched on Thursday renewed protests against the government's pension reform.

This will be the ninth day of planned mobilization since January, with thousands of workers walking out in various sectors, including transportation, energy, and education.

The rally in Paris started in the afternoon, while protests had already started in other cities.

Trade unions counted 40,000 protesters while the authorities counted 5,200 people in Nice, in southern France.

In Marseille, a city in the same region, the CGT said 280,000 people attended the demonstrations, broadcaster BFMTV reported.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Tuesday evening said 12,000 police officers, including 5,000 in Paris, will be deployed during those demonstrations, according to BFMTV.

National railway company SNCF and Parisian regional transportation company RATP announced that their services will be largely disrupted, Le Figaro reported.

The French Directorate General for Civil Aviation urged airline companies to cancel 30% of their flights at Paris-Orly airport, and 20% of the flights at Marseille-Provence, Toulouse, and Lyon airports, due to the workers' strikes.

- Non-stop demonstrations

The country has been facing non-stop demonstrations since March 16, when President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne decided to use constitutional powers to adopt the bill without parliamentary consent.

Acts of violence marred most of those impromptu protests, with hundreds arrested during the weekend.

- Macron's speech

On Wednesday, Macron, in an interview with broadcasters France 2 and TF1, did not budge from his decision on the reform, saying it is a must.

He explained that this bill will pursue its democratic path, and "must enter into force this year."

Those remarks triggered outrage among the opposition parties and trade unions, who criticized the president for arrogance and contempt.

- Pension reform plan, source of popular furor

The French government used special constitutional powers last week to force the plan through, prompting opposing parties to submit no-confidence motions that were later rejected.

Macron and Borne decided to invoke Article 49.3 of the constitution, a mechanism that lets the government adopt a draft bill without parliamentary approval.

The decision was driven by fear that lawmakers would be able to block the reforms as the government does not hold an absolute majority in the legislature.

The government revealed the reform project in January and parliament started examining and debating the draft bill the following month.

Workers and trade unions have since expressed growing outrage by holding demonstrations and walkouts.

The reform project includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, requiring at least 43 years of work to be eligible for a full pension.