French Senate Approves Pension Reform

By WILLIAM HOROBIN And ANGELINE BENOIT

PARIS—France's parliament on Tuesday moved forward on President Nicolas Sarkozy's government's pension-overhaul plan as government ministers looked to move beyond the protests and strikes that have snarled the country.

On Tuesday, the Senate approved the plan, which would raise the retirement age to 62 years old from 60, by a 177-151 vote. The bill goes before the lower house Wednesday, where it is almost certain to pass.

Workers at three of France's 12 refineries voted Monday to return to work, though their supplies of crude oil remain disrupted by port blockades. Shortages at gas stations have eased after the government moved to forcibly unblock oil depots.

"The [form of] expression is changing and I welcome the return to reason and dialogue," French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said on radio station Classique earlier Tuesday.

Ms. Lagarde said the debate was evolving toward how to resolve employment problems among the youngest and oldest workers. "That is a turning point and a very good thing," she said.

French Labor Minister Eric Woerth said on radio station France Info that once the pension plan becomes law, the debate will have changed.

"The movement that takes place after the law is voted can't be the same as the one before the vote," Mr. Woerth said. He said unions' plans for further strikes and protests won't stop the pension reform and that there is no point in striking against it.

While the unions admit that the protests are changing form, they deny their action is drawing to a close and are planning nationwide strikes and protests Thursday, and a day of protests on Nov. 6.

"We are in a new phase, but that doesn't mean things have come to an end," François Chérèque, head of the Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail, said late Monday in a debate on television channel France 2.

"The movement isn't over. It will continue, it will take on other forms," Bernard Thibault, head of France's other main union, the Confédération Générale du Travail, said on the same program.

The CGT's spokesman for Total SA refineries said there is lasting protest action, even if some are beginning to tire of it. "Workers are currently holding general assemblies but even if more refineries vote to return to work, it will take several days to restart production," Charles Foulard said.

The strikes have taken a significant toll on the economy. Ms. Lagarde said Monday that France was incurring losses of between €200 million and €400 million ($280.3 million to €560.6 million) a day, while Industry Minister Christian Estrosi put the total loss at more than €4 billion.

"When we are coming out of the [global economic] crisis, clocking up almost €4.5 billion of losses for our economy can only be a source of concern," Mr. Estrosi said Monday evening, in the debate with union leaders.

Laurence Parisot, the head of France's business lobby, Medef, said on the same program that the supply problems were threatening the survival of some small and midsize businesses, and that the chemicals sector is incurring losses of €30 million a day.

Still, Ms. Lagarde sought Tuesday to minimize concern over the economic impact, saying it won't change the government's growth forecasts. "I don't deny we had several days where there is certainly an economic impact. But I don't think…it will change our growth forecasts for the whole year," she said on Radio Classique. (FONTE: Wall Street Journal)