French PM, unions meeting fails ahead of pension protests

PARIS (AP) — French trade union leaders have walked out of talks with the country’s prime minister after failing to find a compromise on the contentious plan to raise the country’s retirement age from 62 to 64 years. The heads of France’s major unions, who want the withdrawal of the pension plan, met with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Wednesday, a day before the planned 11th round of nationwide strikes and protests since January. A giant banner emblazoned with the words: “64, it’s no” was displayed by unionists on the top of the Arc de Triomphe monument soon after the meeting broke up.