<p><br /> French President Nicolas Sarkozy has won a strategic battle as protests over pension reforms show no sign of ending.<br /> </p><p><br /> Riot police have forced open a fuel refinery at Grandpuits, east of Paris. It is the closest source of gasoline supplies to the capital.<br /> </p><p><br /> However scuffles broke out between officers and workers who had linked arms and refused to move.<br /> </p><p><br /> The operation came as the French Senate is about to vote on a bill at the heart of the union's anger, after the government short-circuited a protracted debate.<br /> </p><p><br /> The idea of raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 has prompted numerous street protests, with tension spilling over into violence and vandalism after months of strikes and demonstrations.<br /> </p><p><br /> The Senate is near-certain to approve the measure before the weekend.<br /> </p><p><br /> Sarkozy ordered regional authorities to intervene and force open depots, accusing the strikers of holding ordinary people and the French economy "hostage."<br /> </p><p><br /> He said overhauling the pension system is vital to ensuring that future generations receive any pensions at all.<br /> </p><p><br /> It is a choice many European governments are facing as populations live longer and government debts soar.<br /> </p><p><br /> However, French unions say retirement at 60 is a hard-earned right, and that the working class is unfairly punished by the pension reform.<br /> </p><p><br /> They fear this reform will herald the end of an entire network of welfare benefits that make France an enviable place to work and live.<br /> </p>
