Strikes cost France hundreds of millions a day, minister saysBy the CNN Wire Staff
October 25, 2010 -- Updated 1415 GMT (2215 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Strikers stop blocking fuel depots and go back to work at some refineries
Protests against pension reform have cost the country $280 to $560 million a day, Christine Lagarde says
The costs include fuel shortages, lost foreign investment, and damage to the country's reputation, she says
Unions have been fighting a government plan to raise the retirement age to 62
Paris, France (CNN) -- Strikes in France cost the country 200 to 400 million euros ($280 to $560 million) per day, plus "immaterial" and "moral" damages, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Monday.
French workers staged a series of rolling strikes and demonstrations this month and last month against government plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, among other pension reforms.
Lagarde's estimate covers a period of nearly two weeks, since rolling strikes began on October 12, a finance ministry spokesman told CNN, and takes in the fuel crisis, the deterioration of the country's image, and the impact on foreign investment.
She was speaking with French broadcaster Europe 1.
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