France crippled by mass strike

Millions of demonstrators were expected to take to the streets in major cities later today in a show of force by trade unions.

Leaders from some of the six unions that jointly called the strike said that more than 200 rallies are planned all across France.

Strikes were also called in the postal service, gas and electricity providers and numerous private companies.

Print workers joined in, prompting daily newspapers such as Le Monde and Liberation to cancel their Friday editions. Radio stations such as all-news France Info played music to fill gaps in programming left by striking staff.

Mass protests have forced French governments to back down on social reforms in the past, but Labour Minister Eric Woerth said the government would not bend on raising the retirement age.

He insisted on Wednesday that the reform was "indispensible and fair" but acknowledged there was room for negotiation on issues such as allowances for workers with particularly tough jobs.

The overhaul aims at helping meet a deficit target of three percent of GDP in 2013 and is the centrepiece of President