French dock workers have called off their planned "Dead Port" strike on March 18. Previously, the union representing workers at France's major industrial port docks had threatened to halt all activities at Le Havre and other ports for three days.

In an effort to ease tensions with the government, the union suspended the "Dead Port" strike planned for March 18. The union reported that government officials had taken a positive stance during a recent meeting and expressed hopes of making progress on the ongoing dispute over France’s pension reform policy.

Since January, dock workers and other port employees have been involved in a series of rolling strikes, stemming from disputes over the national pension reform plan with the federal government. The controversial reform, pushed by French President Emmanuel Macron's government in 2023, includes raising the national retirement age from 62 to 64.

The union is demanding that their industry be exempt from the pension reforms. They argue that dock work is a physically demanding job and that workers are entitled to special consideration.

Reports indicate that the National Ports and Docks Union had originally planned a strike for March 18, which would have halted all activities at the Le Havre and Rouen ports and included a suspension of cross-Channel ferry services to the UK.

The strikes have varied since January, with some lasting four hours and others lasting one to three days. During the strike on February 27, nearly all cross-Channel ferry services were suspended for the day. The union had vowed to escalate actions in March, and the original plan for the March 18 strike was to last 72 hours.

After meetings with the Prime Minister and representatives from key government agencies, the union stated that the government was more willing to negotiate and honor previous commitments. The union had long argued that the government had failed to respond to prior promises and had not proposed further talks before 2027.

A union meeting is scheduled for March 25 to review progress. While union leaders are working to ease tensions, they have warned that if the government does not fulfill its commitments to dock workers, new strikes could be launched in April.