英语文摘：French protest again over pension reform, but show fatigue

PARIS, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- France was hit again by a new wave of demonstrations on Thursday over the unpopular raise of retirement age, but compared with the previous protests, the outcry seemed to be diminishing just one day after the parliament adopted the pension reform bill.

France's key trade union CGT said about 2 million people participated in around 270 demonstrations across the country, down from 3.5 million in last week's demonstrations. According to the French Interior Ministry, some 560,000 protesters marched through the country's main cities of Marseilles, Lyon, Toulouse, Nice and Bordeaux.

In Paris some 170,000 people took to the streets, down from 330, 000 on Oct. 19, according to union figures.

The nationwide protests seemed to be easing after the parliament adopted the final text of the pension reform, while hundreds of thousands of French families started to enjoy a 12-day mid-term vacation.

According to local media reports, the proportion of strikers dropped to 16.8 percent in the railway sector, 7.5 percent in the telecom sector, and 4 percent in civil service.

A one-day strike at the country's airports reduced flights by 50 percent in Orly airport, while flights in and out at Charles de Gaulle were down 30 percent. The aviation authority DGAC said flights would return to normal on Friday.

"We are not going to stop protesting after the vote. The law won't become fair just because it is enacted. Our duty is to continue contesting because it's unfair," Francois Cherque, general secretary of the CFDT union, told the BFM television channel.

In general, the nationwide protest was peaceful, but sporadic conflicts between gangs of youth and riot police occurred in several cities.

The French National Assembly approved on Wednesday the revised pension reforms bill in a victory for President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right government, but unions have announced another day of action scheduled for Nov. 6.

Local newspapers quoted Sarkozy's aide as saying that the president intends to sign the bill into law around Nov. 15. The president's approval rate has dropped to a historical low of below 30 percent, but he seems to be determined to accomplish the pension reform.