Strikes for Christmas? French unions dig in against Macron pension reform

Issued on: 17/12/2019 - 20:07Modified: 17/12/2019 - 20:09

It's not just transport strikes. Teachers and hospital workers are also out in numbers. The anxiety is not just over whether families will be united over the holidays. It's also over whether France's cherished welfare state is accelerating its steady erosion. All sides agree reform is needed, what with an ageing population and too many disparate pension schemes. But is the reform fair?

Emmanuel Macron has vowed to speak when the time is right. He has just lost the architect of the reform, done in by an ethics scandal. When the chips fall, will the French president have to scrap the reform, water it down or go full steam ahead?

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Juliette Laurain and Ariana Mozafari.