Sarkozy scents victory over protesters

Finance Minister Christine Lagarde declared the strikes had reached "a turning point" as rubbish collectors began tackling Marseilles's huge backlog of trash and a few French oil workers halted their action.

Ms Lagarde, who has estimated losses from the strikes at as much as 400 million euros (357m) a day, said that the momentum has shifted.

"What's very important is taking responsibility – it's realising that the economy needs to function," she said.

The protests over government plans to change the retirement age from 60 to 62 have disrupted French life and the country's economy for weeks, cancelling trains, causing school closures and shutting down one filling station in four.

University students, pledging to keep the momentum going, organised demonstrations in 20 French cities yesterday. Unions have called for another nationwide day of protests tomorrow – but by then, the retirement reform will have passed its final hurdles in France's parliament.

French unions see retirement at 60 as a cherished social benefit. But President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative government says raising the retirement age is the only way to save the money-losing pension system because French people are living longer.

Polls have shown a majority of French people sympathise with strikers, although their attitudes are not clear-cut. The IFOP polling agency asked if protesters have the right to block companies, roads and fuel depots, and about 59 per cent of respondents said no.

In Marseilles, binmen faced 9,000 tons of rubbish that have piled up in the streets over the last two weeks.