Clash expected over French pensions
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France is preparing to ask a small but powerful group of unionized workers to relinquish jealously guarded pension privileges, the opening gambit in a series of proposed labor changes. At issue are the “special regimes,” the generous pension agreements enjoyed in certain industries and notably by employees of the state-owned rail company SNCF and the energy giants Électricité de France and Gaz de France. Full Story