Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of France Saturday to protest government austerity measures, as ongoing strikes at refineries threatened fuel supplies.
Saturday's protest marked the fifth time in the last month that French citizens have rallied against the government's plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, a move designed to save money as Europe copes with the fallout from the global recession.
The strikes have disrupted public transportation services, closed schools and shipping docks and left garbage piling up on the streets of Marseille.
Strikes shuttered all 12 of France's fuel refineries until the government ordered three to reopen Friday, but the closings have already led to fuel shortages at airports and gas stations.
Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told French television Saturday that only 230 of the country's 13,000 gas stations were out of fuel and noted that there are several weeks of fuel in reserve.
But CTV's Omar Sachedina said Saturday that officials at Paris's Orly airport say they have enough fuel to last for between one and two weeks, while Charles De Gaulle airport has only enough fuel to make it to Monday.
"And what the government is saying is that oil companies can go into their emergency storage, but the government has so far resisted calls to open part of a special fuel reserve system just yet," Sachedina told CTV News Channel in a telephone interview from London.
"While strikes are not unusual in France, it appears that the size and scope of this one is, simply because it has the potential to bring the country to s standstill and also bring the continent to a standstill."
In Paris, thousands of protesters released balloons into the air as they marched from the Place de la Republique to Place de la Nation. Police in civilian clothes monitored the crowd carefully, particularly for student protesters, who have disrupted demonstrations and fought with law enforcement officials. About 200 protesters were arrested on Friday alone, Sachedina reported.
While countries across Europe, including Greece, Portugal and Spain, have proposed tough new austerity measures to cope with record deficits in the wake of the global financial crisis, students, union leaders and city workers are fighting back.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy argues that his planned pension reforms, especially the hike in the retirement age, will save not only money but the entire pension system, which needs the boost in funding as workers live longer.
"But of course as far as the people and the workers are concerned, they're saying that this is something that they've eared and something that they want to preserve, which is why they are making their voices heard on the streets of France," Sachedina said.
Another set of strikes and protests is scheduled for Tuesday, the day before the French Senate is scheduled to vote on the pension reform bill.
With files from The Associated Press
