30 May 2003
France looks set to be plunged into chaos again next week after prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin's Cabinet backed controversial public sector pension reforms on May 28.
The government's determination to press ahead is likely to spark a new series of strikes beginning on June 3, including an indefinite walk-out by Paris transport workers and further strikes by teachers and air traffic controllers.
The plans mean workers would have to pay into state funds for 40 years to claim a full pension – two-and-a-half years longer than at present.
In a television address, Raffarin said: 'If we look to 2020 and beyond, we can see clearly that the pension system will collapse if we do not take the necessary measures.'
The shortfall in pension funds is expected to reach e50bn (£36bn) by 2020.
The unions agree that the disproportionate ratio of workers to pensioners is a problem, but insist there are other ways of finding the money.
PFmay2003
