Flights to France threatened by pension protest

Flights to France threatened by pension protest

Blockade of refineries hits fuel supplies; Exxon Mobile says 'the situation is critical'

PARIS — France is asking airline companies to reduce flights in and out of the country by up to 50 percent on Tuesday, when unions have called for a day of national protests and strikes over pension reforms.

The French DGAC aviation authority said in a statement Monday that airlines were being asked to reduce flights to Paris's Orly airport by 50 percent and to all other airports by 30 percent.

The announcement came as a growing number of pumps in French gas stations were drying up at the start of a second week of action by refinery and port strikers.

They have blocked fuel supplies as part of the campaign against the pension reform bill, which would raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 and the age at which the full state pension is paid from 65 to 67.

The government says this is the only way to stem a ballooning pension deficit.

Rail workers, truck drivers, high-school students and other protesters also maintained pressure on French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a make-or-break week before Wednesday's deciding Senate vote.

Unions called over the weekend to harden the protests, but the government said it would resort to force if necessary to prevent paralysis in the economy.

"When one sees the government's tougher stance, it only reinforces the motivation of the troops," one CGT union official for workers at Total's refineries said.

"As long as the government won't budge, we won't budge," he added.

It was unclear how many of France's 12,000 stations were experiencing shortages.

"The situation is critical," a spokeswoman with Exxon Mobil said. "Anyone looking for diesel in the Paris and Nantes (Western France) regions will have problems," she said.

Nationwide strikes over the pension changes have spread to the country's 12 oil refineries over the past seven days, adding to the impact of a three-week-long strike at France's largest oil port, Fos-Lavera, over working conditions and a port reform.

Refinery and port strikers showed no sign of giving ground, with the prospect of the stoppages continuing at least until a new day of nationwide protests called by unions for Tuesday.

Workers piled up tires Monday in front of the entrance to a refinery at Grandpuits, east of Paris, after authorities issued a legal order demanding that some striking workers re-open the facility.

Workers said Monday they would refuse that demand.

French youth who have rallied to the cause, meanwhile, burned tires or set up blockades outside some schools in Paris and nearby suburbs Monday.

French truck drivers also staged go-slow operations on highways and rail services were also badly disrupted Monday.

'Government is in control'

Government ministers stressed the country had plenty of fuel and that airports in particular have ample supply.

"The government is in control," Industry Minister Christian Estrosi told RTL radio on Monday. "There will be no blockade for companies, no blockade for transport and no blockade for road users."

However France's UFIP oil industry lobby has said France could see serious fuel supply problems by mid-week, meaning the government may have to look at tapping emergency reserves.

The main points of Sarkozy's pension bill have passed through both houses of parliament and following a Senate vote Wednesday on the full package, the bill could soon be signed into law.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon has warned protesters that blockading vital infrastructure is illegal.

"The right to strike is not the right to bar access to a fuel depot, that's an illegal action," Fillon told TF1 television Sunday. "I will not let the French economy suffocate from a blockage of fuel supply."

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.