French on strike over retirement changes

President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to raise the age to 61 or 62 – reforms that have been under discussion since well before the current European debt crisis.

Despite the protests, the French retirement changes are minor compared with the harsh austerity measures of other European nations, including Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Spain and Italy have also announced cuts as a debt crisis that started in Greece weakened the euro and raised questions about the future of currency shared by 16 nations.

Some unions say France's pension budget shortfall could be reduced by raising workers' monthly contributions.

"Even though we need pension reform, extending the retirement age is the most unjust way," the head of the CFDT union, Francois Chereque, said.

He criticised "the purely financial logic" of the government's plan and it's "obsession...with aligning with Germany" on retirement.

Germany recently raised its retirement age from 65 to 67 to offset an ageing population.

To express their anger, French government workers and those in private companies from Nestle to oil giant Total walked out today and planned scores of protests in Paris and elsewhere.