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Unions threaten more power cuts across France as pension strikes continue

Unions cut power to tens of thousands of homes in parts of France on Tuesday and vowed to repeat the action across the country as their dispute with the government over pension reform ramps up.

Published: 17 December 2019 15:42 CET

Unions threaten more power cuts across France as pension strikes continue

Photo: AFP

Overnight on Monday nearly 50,000 households in Bordeaux had no electricity and on Tuesday morning 40,000 homes in Lyon lost power.

Unions have confirmed that the cuts were deliberate, and have threatened more to come unless the government backs down on its plans to reform the French pension system.

Coupures d'#électricité à #lyon 3, #Lyon 6, @villeCaluire @villeurbanne en cours. Ces coupures seraient volontaires et liées au mouvement social actuel. Nos équipes mobilisées avec pour une réalimentation au plus vite. Plus d'infos à venir

— RTE AuvergneRh.Alpes (@RTE_aura) December 17, 2019

The CGT union – one of the most hardline unions involved in the strike – confirmed that its members were behind the cuts – and warned that there could be more to follow.

Francis Casanova, CGT central union delegate at electricity supplier RTE, said: “We consider that this is not malicious.

“This is a way for RTE employees to show that if there is electricity in this country, it is because they are at work every day.”

The ramping up of industrial action comes as transportation strikes across France approach the three-week mark with no end in sight.

Unions also confirmed on Tuesday that there would be no 'Christmas truce' on the railways, meaning that many thousands of people will have to change or scrap their holiday plans.

Member comments

Jacqueline - 17 December 2019 at 21:53 CET

Are they legally allowed to cut power??
Boggy - 18 December 2019 at 07:37 CET

Once these morons start cutting power it proves they have totally lost the plot. Yet they say it’s not malicious and then say the reason we have electricity is that they work everyday. I thought that’s what the job entailed and they get paid for. Irony is not their strongest suit then.

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