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France set to come to a halt over President Macron's pension plans

FRANCE will come to a halt on Thursday as workers strike in protest against the government’s attack on pensions.

Most trains look set to be cancelled across France with flights also affected and Paris’s Metro heavily disrupted.

President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial plans would leave people having to work longer before they can retire, rising the retirement age from 62 to 64.Opinion polls show that the vast majority of French people oppose the plans.

The government has said that it will stand its ground and called on workers not to paralyse the country.

The strike will mean that only one in five high-speed TGV lines will be operating, and only one in 10 local TER trains, the National Society of French Operators (SNCF) train operator said.

Most traffic on the Eurostar is likely to be near normal, but other international train connections will be entirely cancelled.

In Paris, the vast majority of Regional Express Network commuter trains will be cancelled, while three metro lines will be entirely shut down and many others will be disrupted, the RATP metro operator said.

Flights to and from Orly airport, the city’s second-largest, are likely to be disrupted, according to a spokesperson for the DGAC aviation regulator.

Thousands of teachers will be on strike in primary schools, the leading union, SNUipp-FSU, said on Tuesday, while other sectors, from refineries to banks, are also set to strike.

The government is also planning to raise the number of years of contributions needed for a full pension faster than previously planned and will be set at 43 years from 2027.

The reform is yet to be adopted in parliament, where President Macron does not have a majority.

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