Pension Vote Nears in France
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, again, everyone. Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM where anything can happen here. Here are some of the people behind today's top stories. Protestors hit the streets over government cuts. We're talking about painful economic realities making for frustrated people in France. What lessons could Europe's drastic measures hold for the United States? Just 11 days before the election and the mud is flying in the race for President Obama's old seat. We are following the big races and candidates as we count down to election day. And you are online right now; we are, too. Sandra Endo is following "What's Hot" -- Sandra.</s>SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, Tony, what do NBA star Shaquille O'Neal and Madonna have in common? Well they both know how to strike a pose. Find out more in "What's Hot?"</s>HARRIS: OK, let's get started with our lead story. Protesting pension reform, you try to raise the age of retirement, you're going to get intense backlash. The government of France feeling that full force. More than a million people have turned out nationwide to protest a plan to push the retirement age from 60 to 62. The government insists it is necessary to save money. And senators are set to approve the proposal. Senior International Correspondent Jim Bittermann is in Paris. And Jim, first question, once the measure passes the Senate, as it is expected to do, will the strikes end, or is there a chance they could even intensify?</s>JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Could intensify, Tony. The fact is that it's going to be a fait accompli, this law, in about -- probably early next week. It's going to pass the Senate tonight and it has to go through a reconciliation process, but it will be passed. In any case, the unions are calling for more demonstrations and strikes, even though it's passed. And, you know, just listening to Fareed Zakaria there talk about the gloominess in the United States, it's one of the things you see here, too, a gloominess and a kind of pessimism, and people are anxious. And this pension law really is -- has taken a second seat to this overall angst about things and anger at President Sarkozy -- Tony.</s>HARRIS: Well, Jim, the strikes, we understand, have really caused some crippling fuel shortages in the country. Has that situation eased at all?</s>BITTERMANN: Well, not very much. The energy minister said this morning that there's about 20 percent of the gasoline stations in the country that don't have any gasoline at all, and that 80 percent are working, but some of those don't have all sort of varieties of gasoline you may want. And this country uses a lot of diesel fuel, and not a lot of diesel fuel around. In any case, tomorrow starts the long -- two-week-long vacation here, fall break for school kids, and so a lot of people are planning to take to the roads. And the question is, are they going to have the gasoline? There's uncertainty and they're anxious about that. It just adds to the overall anxiety here, I think -- Tony.</s>HARRIS: Well, heading into that break, that holiday, give us a sense of the general public's mood standing on issues important there in France.</s>BITTERMANN: Well, one of the things -- it's interesting. A poll that just came out this morning asking whether or not people, despite the hardships of this strike and this mass movement that's been going on for weeks now, despite all the hardships that that has incurred on the average person, are people supporting the strike? And, in fact, the poll indicates that about 70 percent are still supporting the strike. But when you ask them specific questions, do you, for instance, appreciate the idea that they're blocking refineries? Is that a good thing? That percentage drops way down, because people are not in favor of individual kinds of things. But overall, they'd like to see the government challenged more. They'd like to see some kind of an opposition to the government, which, in this country, basically, ,has been able to get all it wants in the way of reforms. And that really is one of the things that people are most anxious about, I think.</s>HARRIS: All right. Jim Bittermann in Paris for you. Jim, good to see you. Thank you. Let's do this -- let's bring in our Richard Quest to really help us bring this home. He is live in London. Richard spent a lot of time in the United States, as you know, lived here for a period of time as well. All right, Richard, if you would, bottom-line this for us. America, as you know, has to start balance its books. So what lessons can the U.S. learn from France's attempt to make some real cuts here?</s>RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the first thing to understand is that the U.S. economy is, for a variety of technical and financial reasons, very different to the individual economies in Europe. It's got the reserve currency of the dollar. It has got vast resources. The North can be in recession, the South can be in boom, the West can be having financial problems, the Northeast can be enjoying the good times. So, the liquidity, the depth, and the range of markets and the economy gives it a huge, huge home court advantage. That said, Tony, the spending cuts that have been seen in the U.K., in France, in Spain, in Italy, will eventually have to come to the United States. And I need to look no further than the sort of cuts that Governor Schwarzenegger finally got through to the California legislature in Sacramento to really make the point clear. Whether it's Illinois, New York, Florida, or California, there is no way that the spending can continue as it has been.</s>HARRIS: There he is, Richard Quest, the host of "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS." Richard, as always, good to talk to you. Eleven days until the midterms, and the gloves are coming of in the fight for President Obama's old seat. First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.