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PARIS, Jan. 19-- Strikes, protests, and disrupted traffic that began on Dec. 5, 2019 in France, are beginning to weigh on various sectors and reflect a deep crisis for the French political regime. The social movements in France have been pushing back against the government's proposed retirement system reforms. This uNPRecedented social conflict, the longest in France since the 1960s, by a strong union movement, brought together that day 806,000 protesters throughout the country. Since then, there has been no respite, especially among unions representing the public transport sector, which are on their 46th day of strike on Jan. 19. MAJOR IMPASSES The pivot age (the age at which a retiree can collect full benefits), the elimination of special retirement regimes, and a universal point system for retirement make up the major impasses in the negotiations between the French government and labor unions. Many fear the costs of these blocks and denounce a "neo-liberal reform". Carole Alibert, a primary school teacher, told Xinhua on the fringes of a protest that she had come "to defend the retirement of teachers who risk to be really misdirected with this new point-based reform." "I have to work until 67 years old because I started in National Education after a change of professions and even in working until 67, I will not manage to receive 2,000 euros (2,220 U.S. dollars) a month for my retirement. If I stop at 60 years old, I'll be at 1,100 euros," said Alibert. | 
