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PARIS — The French government on Wednesday played down the prospect of mass strikes and protests over pension reform which are expected to start next week.

All of France's main unions have called the first stoppages and rallies next Thursday to protest against the government's plan to raise the retirement age to 64 from its current level of 62, a change that is widely unpopular among the public.

Many observers expect a bitter battle over the next month that could lead to disruption to transport and public services.

"We're not focusing on the possibility of massive protests or the impact of these protests," spokesman Olivier Veran told reporters at a briefing.

"We've finished the phase of consultations and we are entering into the phase of explaining and informing."

Asked whether he was "scared" about the looming battle earlier in the day, he replied: "It doesn't scare me." 

"In the modern history of our country, every time that people have needed to work a bit longer, every time we've needed to reform the pension system... there have been protests," he told the Franceinfo radio station.

President Emmanuel Macron, whose credibility is on the line with a reform he has championed since coming to power in 2017, called on his ministers on Wednesday to help sell the "essential and vital" change to a highly sceptical electorate.

He urged ministers to stress the "social progress" in the changes, such as a higher minimum pension of 1,200 euros ($1,287) a month and allowances for people in ill health or physically demanding jobs.

Veran said that "those that started work early will be able to retire at 58" and four out of 10 workers would not need to reach the new limit of 64 for a pension. 

'Sadistic'

Polls suggested that around two thirds of French people are currently against the changes and a majority support the call for protests.

Draft legislation is expected to be presented in the hung national parliament in early February, with Macron's minority MPs banking on support from the rightwing Republicans opposition group to pass it.

The far-right National Rally Party of Marine Le Pen has announced its intention to be "the leader of opposition to the reform" — a role also coveted by the hard-left France Unbowed Party.

Le Pen called the reform "unfair and very brutal" on Wednesday, saying she thought Macron was being pressured by the European Union or was "sadistic" given the cost-of-living crisis caused by high inflation.

"I told the prime minister this, there's a sadistic side, like the child that pulls the wings off a fly," Le Pen told parliamentary journalists. 

"At a time when French people are facing serious difficulties... with their household budgets collapsing, you're carrying out a reform of the pension system with extreme haste," she added.

PARIS — The French government is set to announce its proposals for overhauling the pension system on Tuesday, in a potentially explosive reform fraught with danger for President Emmanuel Macron.

With his oft-repeated belief that the French "need to work more", Macron has doggedly insisted since his rise to power in 2017 that the pension system must be streamlined.

But having called off his first attempt in 2020 in the face of protests and the COVID-19 pandemic, the 45-year-old centrist put the issue at the heart of his successful campaign for a second term in April last year. 

As well as simplifying the system and removing privileges enjoyed by workers in some sectors of the economy, the reform will aim to raise the retirement age from its current level of 62 — most likely to 64.

"On the whole, the idea of the reform is not supported by the public, even though some can understand that if we live for longer then we might need to work for longer," Bruno Cautres, a political expert at Sciences Po university in Paris, told AFP. 

All of France's trade unions and most of the country's opposition political parties are preparing for battle, seeing the struggle as a way of protecting the country's social system and undermining Macron's position.

The former investment banker lost his parliamentary majority in legislative elections in June in a major setback.

He has made pension reform one of the main planks of his plans for domestic reform during his second term.

"If Emmanuel Macron wants to make it the mother of reforms... for us it will be the mother of battles," warned the head of the hard-left FO union, Frederic Souillot, over the weekend.

Street protests and strikes appear inevitable, with Macron's last attempt resulting in the longest public transport stoppage in Paris in three decades.

Yellow Vests II? 

Of greater concern to the government is the risk of spontaneous protests of the sort seen in 2018 when people wearing fluorescent yellow safety jackets began blocking roads, sparking what became known as the "Yellow Vest" revolt.

The often violent display of defiance struck fear into the heart of government, leading Macron to promise a gentler, less authoritarian style of governing.

"I don't see another 'Yellow Vest' crisis happening," Cautres told AFP, even though he said the national mood was one of "pessimism, fatalism and anger" and a sense that "we're permanently in crisis".

Some in government are banking on the country acquiescing to a change that is widely disliked but viewed as inevitable, particularly given that most of France's neighbours have hiked the retirement age to 65 or beyond.

"There's a form of fatalism," an aide to Macron told AFP recently on condition of anonymity. "We're going to go through with it and people know it."

The government has also watered down some of its proposals, with the retirement age likely to be 64 instead of the 65 proposed by Macron.

There will also be a proposed rise in the minimum pension to 1,200 euros ($1,280) a month and greater provision for people who have not worked continuously, such as parents who took career breaks to care for children.

'President of the rich' 

Critics see the changes as retrograde and unnecessary, even though official forecasts show the system in deep deficit in the coming decades because of the gradually ageing population.

"In 2023, will Emmanuel Macron be out of step with the era and shine as the president of the rich?" leftwing French economist and author Thomas Piketty asked in Le Monde newspaper on Sunday.

He said the reform might save the state up to 20 billion euros a year, but "the problem is that these 20 billion will weigh down entirely on the poorest" by extending their working lives.

As well as contending with strikes and protests, Macron's government will also need to cut a path through the stormy parliament where the ruling party and its allies are in a minority.

Support for the legislation from the rightwing Republicans party is expected to be necessary.

Without it, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne would have to use a constitutional power known as article 49.3 which enables her to ram through legislation without a vote.

But such a move would almost certainly lead to a confidence vote, which, if all the opposition parties united, could bring down the government. 

Borne will unveil the outlines of the proposed law at 5:30 pm (1630 GMT) and will speak on French TV later in the evening. 

GENEVA — Pakistan's prime minister on Monday asked the IMF for a pause in its demands for economic reforms before releasing more financial aid, as the country tries to rebuild after catastrophic floods.

Shehbaz Sharif said he was trying to persuade the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to give Islamabad some breathing space as it tackles the "nightmarish" situation.

The global lender wants Pakistan to withdraw remaining subsidies on petroleum products and electricity, aimed at helping the masses.

At the United Nations in Geneva for a conference on Pakistan's recovery from last year's catastrophic monsoon floods, Shehbaz was asked by reporters about the block on IMF funds.

Pakistan's economy has crumbled alongside a simmering political crisis, with the rupee plummeting and inflation at decades-high levels, but the floods and the global energy crisis have piled on further pressure.

Shehbaz came to office in April last year, ahead of the floods in July and August.

A $6 billion IMF deal negotiated by the previous government was restarted after Pakistan finally met conditions such as ending subsidies on fuel.

But Islamabad has so far only received half the funds — the last payment in August — with a further review of the package ongoing.

"Even before these floods hit Pakistan, we were already facing humongous challenges," he said.

"Yet we had to again connect with the IMF and resurrect an agreement which was violated by the previous government — and accept even harsher conditionalities," said Shehbaz.

He said Pakistan was complying with the IMF's conditions "as best as possible" but asked "how on Earth" the additional burdens could be shouldered by the country's poorest.

"Yet we are committed to IMF's programme. We will do everything to comply with the terms and conditions. Though I am constantly trying to persuade them: Please give us a pause," he said.

'Be considerate' 

Shehbaz spoke with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Saturday and asked her to "kindly be considerate and compassionate and give us some breathing space", he said.

"This is an ongoing dialogue. I'm sure one day soon we will be able to convince them through logic and through facts."

"That said, regardless, we will comply with the IMF programme."

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is due to meet an IMF delegation in Geneva on Monday, a Pakistani minister confirmed to AFP on condition of anonymity.

Economists and traders estimate the country has around three weeks of foreign exchange reserves left to service imports and a swift IMF cash injection is the only way to shore up the economy.

At the Geneva conference, Britain encouraged Pakistan to continue its macroeconomic reforms and conclude the ninth review of the IMF programme.

Development Minister Andrew Mitchell said it would be much easier for the world to help Pakistan "if Pakistani taxpayers are seen to be playing a core part in this effort".

MUMBAI — India's largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services on Monday reported higher earnings in the December quarter, but missed expectations and warned of a "cautious" business environment in the new year.

TCS is India's second-most-valuable company by market capitalisation and earns more than 80 per cent of its revenues from Western markets.

It has been at the forefront of an IT boom that has seen India become a back office to the world as firms in North America and Europe subcontract work, taking advantage of a skilled English-speaking workforce.

More recently, technology companies have benefited from a boost in demand for digital services since the pandemic.

But fears of an impending recession in key Western markets have hit business sentiment in recent months as software clients turn cautious, the company said.

"Europe is a market where client decision-making is getting impacted by the ongoing geopolitical challenges there and requires close watching," Chief Executive Officer Rajesh Gopinathan told a media briefing.

Gopinathan added that North America, which contributes half of its business, remained "vibrant" even as clients are expected to remain "cautious" and watchful of inflation in the early part of the year.

Net profit at the IT giant rose to 108.46 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) in the three months ended December 31, 11 per cent higher than in the same period last year.

Sustained demand across business segments pushed revenue from operations 19 per cent higher year-on-year to 582.29 billion rupees, crossing $7 billion for the first time in any quarter.

The revenue figures beat expectations but profits missed slightly, media reports said.

The Mumbai-headquartered company said the value of its order book declined to $7.8 billion at the end of December, compared to $8.1 billion at the end of September, albeit within the $7-9 billion guidance range.

The company, one of India's largest private employers, saw its employee headcount fall in the quarter as it continued to slow hiring.

Employee attrition — a key metric for the industry — fell to 21.3 per cent, compared to 21.5 per cent in the previous quarter.

Operating margins rose 0.5 percentage points compared to the September quarter to 24.5 per cent, but contracted 0.5 percentage points year-on-year.

The company's board approved an interim dividend of 8 rupees per share and a special dividend of 67 rupees per share.

Shares in the firm closed 3.35 per cent higher in Mumbai ahead of the results announcement.

DOHA — Qatar signed a $6 billion deal with Chevron Phillips Chemical on Sunday to build a plant including the biggest ethane cracker in the Middle East, converting natural gas into polyethylene and other plastics.

The Ras Laffan Petrochemicals Complex, which will produce 2.1 million tonnes of ethylene a year along with 1.7 million tonnes of polyethylene derivatives, will come on stream in 2026.

The complex will have "lower waste and greenhouse gas emissions" than similar facilities around the world, said Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Qatar's energy minister and the CEO of QatarEnergy.

QatarEnergy has a 70 per cent equity share in the joint venture with Texas-based Chevron Phillips taking the other 30 per cent.

"This marks QatarEnergy's largest investment ever in Qatar's petrochemicals sector and the first direct investment in 12 years," Kaabi said at a signing ceremony in Doha.

Ras Laffan will double Qatar's ethylene production capacity and increase its polymer output from 2.6 million tonnes to more than 4 million tonnes a year. Overall, Qatar's petrochemical production capacity will rise to almost 14 million tonnes a year.

The investment "marks an important milestone in QatarEnergy's downstream expansion strategy", Kaabi said.

"It will not only facilitate further expansion in the downstream and petrochemical sectors in Qatar, but will also reinforce our integrated position as a major global player in the upstream, LNG and downstream sectors."

Ethane crackers, which convert gas into ethylene, have been targeted by environmental activists for their emissions, while ethylene and polyethylene are used in a swathe of plastic products from piping to water bottles and food packaging.

Wealthy Qatar has large reserves of natural gas including the North Field, which contains the world's biggest deposits and stretches under the Gulf sea into Iranian territory.

AMMAN — Mining sector revenues in 2021 amounted to JD3.11 billion, with extractive industries revenue comprising JD1.94 and manufacturing industries revenues comprising JD1.16 billion, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The data indicated that the mining sector contributed 9.12 per cent of Jordan’s GDP. Mining sector exports accounted for 30.4 per cent of total national exports in 2021.

Since the beginning of 2022, the ministry signed seven memoranda of understanding in an effort to put Jordan on the regional and even global mining map.

According to previous statements from Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh, the memoranda of understanding were signed to restore momentum to the mining sector.

The ministry also launched an interactive map for marketing mineral resources as well as oil and gas exploration, as part of efforts to achieve the optimal exploitation of natural resources.

The 2025 mineral resources strategy seeks to raise the mining sector’s contribution to GDP to 11 per cent. 

Mining industries witnessed significant improvement at the Arab and international levels, especially in mining phosphates, potash, bromine, chemical acids and fertilisers.

Similarly, extractive industries play an important role in promoting economic independence, as raw materials necessary for a number of manufacturing industries can be mined domestically, thus reducing reliance on imports and positively affecting GDP.