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.
The French Senate passed the reforms last week despite the demonstrations, and a final vote reconciling its bill with that of the lower house of parliament is expected within days.
CNN
