President Nicolas Sarkozy's controversial pension reform, which gave rise to weeks of strikes and mass protests across France, passed its final legislative hurdle yesterday when it was approved by parliament.
Despite the National Assembly's approval of the final version of the bill, by 336 votes to 233, however, trade unions said they would proceed with plans for another round of nationwide strikes today.
The unions have hinted at a winding down of their street protests, but they hope to enter negotiations with government in the coming days from a position of strength.
The Socialist Party said it would lodge an appeal with the constitutional council, while the unions believe they can still extract concessions during the period of several weeks before the law to raise the retirement age will come into effect.
Today will mark the ninth day of action since the unions' campaign began in early September, with airports and public transport again expected to be disrupted, but parliament's approval of the pensions bill is expected to shift the dynamic in the battle of wills between Mr Sarkozy and the unions.
Keen not to appear to contest the legitimacy of the assembly, union leaders have signalled that a "new phase" will now begin, with the focus on negotiations over key issues, such as youth unemployment, which have been aired in recent weeks.
The strikes and protests which threatened to bring the economy to a standstill last week have generally been petering out in recent days. Petrol supplies have now been restored at 80 per cent of service stations, while in
Marseille, binmen returned to work after a 14-day strike left 10,000 tonnes of rubbish in the streets of the city.
Workers at six of France's 12 oil refineries voted to lift their blockades, and public transport has nearly returned to normal in recent days. Moreover, the latest polling has shown that the public is wary of strikers blocking companies, roads and fuel depots.
"There's a time for unions and a time for parliament. In modern democracies there's a principle: parliament votes on a law and when a law has been voted you enact it," said Jean-François Copé, the head of Mr Sarkozy's UMP party in the assembly.
But government ministers have been careful to avoid sounding triumphalist, aware that polls show a clear majority of French people remain opposed to the reform and approve of the unions' campaign of opposition.
Welcoming the assembly's vote, prime minister François Fillon struck a firm but conciliatory tone, noting that the "social partners" had made their convictions known in a "resolute but calm" manner. "The vigour of the debates was legitimate, but the law of the Republic must from now on be accepted by all. Everyone should be aware of how to emerge from this crisis with responsibility and mutual respect."
Bernard Thibault, the leader of the powerful CGT union, told Libération yesterday that the battle on pension reform was not over. He admitted that the goal of today's protest was not to beat turnout records, "but from what we're hearing from the ground, we'll see another good level of mobilisation, which will show the level of anger has not diminished."
While disruption has eased in most sectors, the focus is now on an unrelated month-old strike at the southern port of Fos-Lavera, which has prevented many of France's refineries for receiving deliveries of crude oil.