French ballet dancers protest pension overhaul as strikes continue
- Paris Opera’s special retirement plan allows dancers to bow out at age 42, as opposed to 64, under controversial new proposal
- Three-week strike has paralysed public transport in France, as workers protest move to replace more than 40 separate retirement schemes with single system
Dancers in white tutus performed Swan Lake on the steps of a Paris opera house on Tuesday in a show of support for the French strike against the government’s pension reforms.
Under a grey sky on Christmas Eve, around 40 dancers twirled on point in Act 4 of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet against a backdrop of huge banners saying “Paris Opera on strike” and “Culture is in danger”.
The dancers, on strike alongside public sector workers, oppose the government’s plan to do away with more than 40 separate pension schemes and replace them with a single points-based system.
The special retirement plan for the Paris Opera, which allows dancers to bow out at age 42, was introduced in 1698 by King Louis XIV – making it among the oldest in France.
“Even though we are on strike, we wanted to offer on December 24 a moment of grace,” said Alexandre Carniato, a dancer and spokesman for the strikers.