French strikes: will pension reform undo Emmanuel Macron?
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On Tuesday (7 March), hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest Emmanuel Macron\\u2019s attempts to raise the retirement age. Workers in a variety of sectors \\u2013 including education, transport, energy and waste \\u2013 downed tools on the largest day of strikes since Macron\'s presidency began.
Megan Gibson in London, Ido Vock in Berlin and Katie Stallard in Washington DC discuss Macron\\u2019s proposals and his refusal to back down, raising the prospect of an escalating struggle. Plus, what are the stakes for the country more broadly?
Next they turn to China, where the country\\u2019s leadership has gathered for its annual parliamentary session, known as the National People\\u2019s Congress. The team discuss Xi Jinping\\u2019s uncharacteristically direct attack on the US, how these statements were received in Washington, and what the parliamentary session tells us about how China sees its path ahead.
Then in You Ask Us, a listener wonders: will the toxic chemical attacks against Iranian schoolgirls quell the unrest in the country?
Read more:
Katie writes Xi Jinping lashes out at the US
Megan asks who is poisoning school girls in Iran?
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