Reading Comprehension
French president Nicolas Sarkozy is in trouble．Over the past month, workers and students around France have been striking to 1 Sarkozy's pension reform policy．
There have been major disruptions to air and rail services across the country．Hundreds of flights have been 2 , and public transport in major cities has been seriously hit．
If Sarkozy's policy goes through, France will 3 the retirement age by two years to 62 by 2018．the country's current pension system is running a deficit which could become 4 if changes are mot made, the government argues．
In the wake of the euro zone debt crisis, governments of European nations have tried to bring their deficits 5 ．Some have already introduced pension reform．By 2028 Irish workers will have to wait until they are 68 to retire．Germany's government is 6 a retirement age of 67 by 2029．
The movement in France is 7 ．Polls show that 69 percent of the nation backs the strikes; 73 percent wants the government to 8 the reform．
In France, demonstrations are seen as a civilized and 9 way to exercise civil rights．Social 10 such as long vacations, state-sponsored health care and early retirement are felt to be rights rather than privileges．
“We want to stop working at 60 because it's something our parents, our grandparents and even our great-grandparents 11 ,” says Gilly, 50, a worker in Marseille．
“And over the years… you can see that we're losing everything they fought for．And that's 12 ．”
Even high school students have joined the strike．If people have to work longer, young people would have 13 job opportunities．Parents, 14 their children's future, don't want to stop them．
The coming days will 15 whether Sarkozy can succeed in pushing through his reforms, or the strikers triumph in bringing them to a halt．
