French retirement age reforms 'almost certain' to be passed

France's lower house, the national assembly, is today expected to pass Nicolas Sarkozy's controversial plan to increase the retirement age, as unions vowed to continue their strikes and protests despite signs of dwindling support. The finance minister, Christine Lagarde, said the strikes were costing France up to €400m (£350m) a day, but that the protest movement had reached a "turning point". Yesterday the reforms, which involve raising the retirement age from 60 to 62, were passed by 177 votes to 151 in the senate. The reforms will go before the lower house today, where they are almost certain to be passed. The powerful CGT union, which has been organising strikes at France's 12 oil refineries, insisted protests would go on even if the pension reforms were passed. "It's not over," the union chief, Bernard Thibault, said as the union gave details of protests across France planned for tomorrow . But the moderate union the CFDT signalled that it would be willing to talk with the minister. Its leader François Chérèque appeared on television calling for negotiation on the employment terms for both young and old people. Lagarde welcomed the move. "I salute the return to reason and dialogue," she said. "What's very important is taking responsibility. It's realising that the economy needs to function," she told Radio Classique. The prime minister, François Fillon, said strikers should back down as the protest movement "no longer has any meaning". For two weeks the strikes have disrupted French life and the country's economy , causing trains to be cancelled and schools and petrol stations to close. More than 2,500 people have been arrested during the fortnight as protests coincided with violent disturbances in some cities. Yesterday the momentum behind the protests appeared to fading. Refuse workers in Marseilles returned to work and began the task of clearing 9,000 tonnes of uncollected bin bags that have created a powerful stench across the city. The interior minister, Brice Hortefeux, said workers at five out of the 12 strike-hit refineries had also returned to work. A demonstration outside the senate in Paris drew fewer than 1,000 people.