Paris, France (CNN) -- French unions called Thursday for two more days of protests against government plans to raise the retirement age, as lawmakers cut through red tape to try to make the proposal law within days.
Six major unions called for nationwide demonstrations on October 28 and November 6, saying that protests so far show the people are ready to dig in for the long haul.
More than a million people have turned out to protest against the proposal to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, a move the government says is necessary to save money.
The French Senate adopted new rules Thursday to speed up voting on the controversial pension reform bill. They now could pass their version as soon as Friday, meaning a final version could be sent to the president as soon as early next week.
Thousands of people demonstrated in central Paris on Thursday while the senators were voting.
Lawmakers, trying to wade through more than 1,000 amendments -- many put up by opposition senators to try to derail the bill -- will group them together rather than voting on each one, Labor Minister Eric Woerth announced.
He said debate on the bill had gone on longer than on any other bill since the Fifth Republic came into existence in 1958.
CNN
