PARIS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - France's hardline CGT union has threatened to cut off electricity supplies to lawmakers and billionaires before a nationwide strike on Thursday, in an increasingly acrimonious showdown over the government's plan to raise the retirement age.
Employees in sectors including transport, education and energy across France will take part in Thursday's strike, with major protest marches expected in Paris and other cities.
The industrial action is seen as a test of whether unions, who in past years have struggled to convince people to strike, can transform this anger into mass social protest.
"I suggest they also go see the nice properties, the nice castles of billionaires," Philippe Martinez, leader of the CGT, France's second-largest trade union, told France 2 television on Wednesday.
"It would be good if we cut off their electricity so that they can put themselves, for a few days, in the shoes of ... French people who can't afford to pay their bill.".
Government spokesman Olivier Veran said threats to cut electricity were "unacceptable.".
That worked in 1995, when millions took to the street in what were the country's most disruptive social protests in decades. »
