French unions plan more protests against pension reform.

PARIS, October 23 (Itar-Tass) -- The French Senate's Friday decision
to approve (after 140 hours of intense debate) the pension reform bill was
not a surprise. The trade unions have used all possible leverage - five
general strikes during one month, blockades of oil refineries and the
involvement of youth into the protests - but failed to shake the resolve
of the ruling party.
However, local observers believe that the main initiator of the reform
- the Elysee Palace - will not get the winner's prize, either. Nicolas
Sarkozy's entourage had never hidden the fact that the pension reform
would become the main domestic political development in the second half of
his presidency. Nevertheless, the resistance offered by the trade unions
and the political opposition has led to a significant radicalization of
the social conflict. "Both sides may stand to lose", says an influential
French daily, Le Monde.
Commenting on the results of the vote in the Senate Labor Minister
Eric Woerth said that reform was really unpopular. "But the significance
of it for future generations is difficult to overestimate," he added. "The
opposition will be even thankful to us for this decision some day."
Time will judge. In the meantime the trade unions, reluctant to lose
face, are getting ready for more protests, which, in turn, are also
rapidly becoming unpopular in the eyes of many. Up to 30 percent of
filling stations across France have experienced serious fuel problems for
a week. Interruptions occurred as a result of strikes at all of the
country's twelve refineries. Stoppages have cost the French petrochemical
industry 100 million euros of losses every day. The losses of Air France
have already exceeded those caused by the eruption of an Icelandic volcano
last spring.
More mass protests against the pension reform are due on October 28
and November 6, the trade unions said. The youth movement does not lag
behind the older generation. The head of the National Union of Students of
France has called for demonstrations on October 26.
Meanwhile, the situation at French refineries remains unclear. Shortly
before the voting in the Senate a number of refineries voted for more
strikes, in some cases, indefinite ones. The government was too late to
publicly recognize the scale of the problem. Only on Friday morning, the
minister of the environment, also responsible for transport, Jean-Louis
Borloo, said that the restoration of normal supplies to filling stations
"will take more time than expected."
The just-started holiday season in France can help ease passions
somewhat. However, the pension reform will remain number one issue next
week. On October 25 there will be a meeting of the parliamentary
conciliatory committee, which is to present a final version of the bill
incorporating the opinions of both houses of parliament. The final vote in
the National Assembly and the Senate will most likely take place next
week, on October 26 and 27, said the minister of relations with parliament
Henri de Raincourt.

-0-str