Paris: French President Nicolas Sarkozy moved closer to victory on Wednesday in his showdown with unions over pension reform, with strikes easing and street marches losing momentum.
Public transport was returning to normal, fuel was leaving depots at five oil refineries and garbage collectors in the southern port city of Marseille cleared heaps of maggot-infested rubbish after ending a two-week walkout.
A separate month-old strike at the Marseille oil port of Fos-Lavera may now become the government's main focus as it is starving the bulk of France's refineries of crude oil, preventing them restarting operations.
Sarkozy has kept a low profile this week as his reform, to make people work two years longer for their pensions, comes close to becoming law. It has provoked some of Europe's fiercest protests against deficit-cutting measures.
CGT union head Bernard Thibault told the daily Liberation in an interview on Wednesday the battle over pension reform was not over. But he admitted that the goal of a new national day of protest on Thursday was not to beat turnout records.
Unions have called on airline and rail workers to strike on Thursday, meaning some flights and train services could be affected, but major disruption is not expected.
"We can see that this week marks a change," Labour Minister Erik Woerth, in charge of shepherding the pension bill through parliament, told Canal Plus television on Wednesday.
Sarkozy says his bill to raise the minimum and full retirement ages by two years to 62 and 67 is vital to rein in a ballooning pension shortfall and safeguard the AAA credit rating that lets France service its debt at the lowest market rates.
Port strikes
Both houses of parliament have approved the bill and the national assembly signed off on revisions to the text on Wednesday by 336 votes to 233. The law now needs to be approved by the constitutional council, where a last-minute challenge by the opposition Socialists could mean a delay of a few days.
Petrol station shortages have eased after the government cleared fuel depot blockades and increased fuel imports.
Unions have called a fresh day of nationwide strikes and street marches on Thursday and another for November 6. But only a few hundred students turned out for rallies on Tuesday and momentum for the protests appears weak.
The Fos-Lavera workers, who oppose the privatisation of dock unloading operations there, will keep striking until they reach a deal with management, local CGT union representative Pascal Galeote told Reuters. "We will stay on strike as long as needed to see things move in the right direction," he said.
"We are waiting for a signal from management. We should have one today," local CGT representative Pascal Galeote said.
Some 80 tankers carrying crude or refined fuel were moored offshore of Fos-Lavera on Wednesday, waiting to unload.
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