French Unions Stage New Protest Against Pension Bill

French union workers have staged another round of protests against the new pension bill that is raising the country’s minimum retirement age from 60 to 62.

Officials say about 142,000 people turned out at rallies across France, down sharply from almost half a million that turned out in the last major demonstration October 28.

Despite the dwindling numbers, Bernard Thibault, the leader of the powerful CGT union, told the leftist newspaper L’Humanite that the protests will continue. But some unions have signaled that the battle is over.

The pension reform bill, which also calls for raising the age for a full pension from 65 to 67, has been adopted by both chambers of parliament. President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to sign it into law later this year.

A series of strikes and street protests have disrupted train and air travel and caused fuel supply shortages during much of October.

Polls show that a majority of French citizens oppose the change in pension law.

Mr. Sarkozy has refused to back down despite the fierce opposition, insisting that the measure is necessary to prevent the system from going bankrupt.

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Some information in this story was provided by AFP and Reuters.