FRENCH trade unions have called for strikes in protest at government plans to force people to work for longer before they can retire.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Tuesday that the retirement age would rise to 64, despite the move being opposed by four in five French citizens, according to an Odoxa poll.

The announcement comes as French workers struggle to cope with a escalating cost-of-living crisis, which has caused a wave of strikes across the country.

Ms Borne said: “I’m well aware that changing our pension system raises questions and fears among the French,” but her government felt that it was a “fair” proposal.

However the country’s eight union centres all condemned the change and called for strike action on January 19.

General Confederation of Labour (CGT) general secretary Philippe Martinez, whose organisation’s 700,000 members makes it the largest French union centre, urged workers to “go on strike that day and the next days,” adding they were “committed to preventing the Bill from passing.”

French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) general secretary Laurent Berger denounced the proposal as “one of the most brutal pension reforms of the past 30 years.”

A heated debate on the plan is expected in parliament next month as most opposition parties are opposed to the change.