PARIS—The French capital and other big cities were paralyzed by a massive public transport strike against a planned overhaul of France’s pensions system, in a test of President Emmanuel Macron’s resolve to modernize the economy.
Trains, including the high-speed line between Paris and London, subways and buses were severely curtailed if not halted altogether. Hundreds of flights were canceled. Many schools, and nurseries remained closed, while several museums, including the Louvre, said parts of their collections might not...
PARIS—The French capital and other big cities were paralyzed by a massive public transport strike against a planned overhaul of France’s pensions system, in a test of President Emmanuel Macron’s resolve to modernize the economy.
Trains, including the high-speed line between Paris and London, subways and buses were severely curtailed if not halted altogether. Hundreds of flights were canceled. Many schools, and nurseries remained closed, while several museums, including the Louvre, said parts of their collections might not open. Even the Eiffel tower was closed.
About 6,000 police officers were deployed across the French capital where tens of thousands of protesters—including lawyers, teachers and air-traffic controllers—were expected to hit the streets Thursday. Unions warned the protests could last days and become the biggest strike in France in over two decades.
The proposed overhaul, a major plank in Mr. Macron’s program, is a perilous move for the president. The plan has drawn the ire of trade unions and risks reviving social unrest just months after turning the page on the yellow-vest crisis. That movement ran out of steam last spring after prominent protesters publicly turned on each other, creating a leadership vacuum that made it hard to translate public rage into action. But there remains a simmering public anger against Mr. Macron’s reform agenda.
Mr. Macron wants to extend the number of years that people are required to work before collecting their pensions, rather than raising the age of retirement of 62 years old for all workers. He also wants to consolidate France’s 42 different retirement plans—and their special benefits—into one universal system.
At the start of his presidency, Mr. Macron abolished France’s wealth tax and loosened its rules for hiring and firing in an attempt to lure investors and tech companies to France. That helped fuel the rise of the yellow-vest movement, sending hundreds of thousands of protesters into French cities to torch cars and smash storefronts. Such carnage brought the government to its knees, forcing Mr. Macron to douse the crisis with billions in cash handouts for minimum wage earners.
Mr. Macron also embarked on a listening tour—crisscrossing the country to hear complaints and suggestions at town hall meetings. He pledged to cut taxes and offer more public services in rural areas. He also promised to pivot away from the top-down governing style that marked his earliest days in office, to shake off his image of an out-of-touch president of the rich.
The French leader is now under pressure to show he can deliver on that pledge, while continuing to forge ahead with his agenda.
Mr. Macron said he wants to make France’s costly pension system more fair and sustainable. France’s public pension plan is expected to hit a €10 billion ($11 billion) deficit by 2022, according to a recent government report, as people live longer and have fewer children.
Any changes to the country’s retirement plan are expected to take months. Attempts by previous governments were met with strong resistance from trade unions. In 1995, they led a massive strike for three weeks, forcing the government to back down.
A recent Ifop poll of 1,004 people showed 76% believed the government should overhaul the country’s pension system, but only 36% trusted Mr. Macron to do it right.
Write to Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com