Protesters against French retirement reform block Louvre museum

Havana, March 27 (RHC) Union actions against the retirement reform adopted by the French government continued on Monday with the blockade of the emblematic Louvre museum and the Paris-Dauphine University, as well as strikes at refineries.

The Guild of Culture of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) announced on social networks the blockade of the most famous museum in Paris and the most visited in the world, and posted on Twitter a photo of the emblematic pyramid, one of the entrances to the facility, taken over by protesters.

Also on the networks, the administration of the museum that houses works such as La Gioconda, the Venus de Milo and The Coronation of Napoleon reported on the closure.

Another blockade reported today takes place at the Paris-Dauphine University, where students rejected the retirement reform, citing concerns for their future.

The management of the house of higher studies indicated its closure to guarantee security, before the action carried out by some 200 people.

The Government adopted the reform without a parliamentary vote, under Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which added to the discontent over the initiative that includes the extension of the retirement age from 62 to 64 years, the increase in the contribution period and the elimination of special retirement regimes.

This Monday the strike at refineries and fuel depots continued, causing difficulties in supplying some product at 15.6 percent of the service stations on French soil.

According to Le Figaro's daily count, 52 departments have problems with at least one in 10 stations lacking gasoline or diesel. Also tense is the issue of garbage in Paris, where the strike of collectors protesting against the reform causes the accumulation of waste throughout the city. According to the first deputy of the capital's Mayor's Office, Emmanuel Grégoire, there are some 7,500 tons of waste to be collected.

This morning, protesters blocked the Ivry-sur-Seine garbage incinerator, one of the largest in Europe.

The various actions take place on the eve of the tenth national day of mobilizations called by the Intersindical, a movement that brings together the main French unions and rules out giving up the protest, unless the Government withdraws the reform. (Source: Prensa Latina)