we begin in france, where unions will be staging strike action today against the government s pension reform plans. the government is aiming to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. today marks the sixth day of strikes and protests since mid january, and unions say it will be the biggest yet with workers across a range of sectors expected to mobilise. teachers, gas and electricity workers, train drivers, and industrial workers are all expected to join. part of the french government plan is also to raise the minimum pension to 1,200 euro a month, which is over 550 euro higher than the current minimum figure. but unions want more due to rising inflation. let s go live to paris now and talk to tomasz michalski associate professor of economics at the hec business school in paris. we spoke about these injanuary but they are still continuing into march. but they are still continuing into march. , , . , , into march. the public support is there for into march. the public