French protesters block Marseille airport

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PARIS, Oct 21 (AP): French protesters blockaded Marseille's airport, truckers tied up highways and Lady Gaga canceled concerts in Paris ahead of a tense Senate vote Thursday on raising the retirement age. A quarter of the nation's gas stations were out of fuel despite President Nicolas Sarkozy's orders to force open fuel depots barricaded by striking workers.
Gasoline shortages and violence on the margins of student protests have heightened the standoff between the government and labor unions who see retirement at 60 as a hard-earned right. Students barricaded a Paris high school and planned protests nationwide later Thursday, as the Senate wraps up protracted debate on a reform that Sarkozy calls crucial to his presidency. Student protests have forced the government to its knees in the past, and in recent days some have degenerated into violence. Rioters threw stones at police Wednesday night in the city of Lyon. The French government - like many heavily indebted governments around Europe - says raising the retirement age and overhauling the money-losing pension system is vital to ensuring that future generations receive any pensions at all.
French unions say the working class is unfairly punished by the pension reform and that the government should find money for the pension system elsewhere. They fear this reform will herald the end of an entire network of welfare benefits that make France an enviable place to work and live.