PARIS (AP) - French oil workers defied the government's demand Monday to get back to work and end fuel shortages, stepping up the fight against President Nicolas Sarkozy's retirement reforms. Youths and truckers joined in, facing off against riot police and creating chaos on the roads. Strikers have blockaded a dozen French refineries and numerous oil depots in the last week as part of widespread protests over Sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age to 62, a reform the French Senate is voting on Wednesday. Workers are angry because they consider retiring at 60 a pillar of France's hard-won social contract - and fear this is just the first step in eroding their often-envied quality of life. Critics say Sarkozy wants to adopt an "American-style capitalist" system and claim the government could find pension savings elsewhere, such as by raising contributions from employers. (30 images)
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Youths throw items at riot police officers, unseen, during clashes in Nanterre, outside Paris, Monday Oct. 18, 2010. French oil workers are intensifying their fight against President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age to 62, a conflict that has hobbled transportation and sparked scattered gas shortages. French youths who have rallied to the cause, meanwhile, burned tires or set up blockades outside some schools in Paris and nearby suburbs on Monday. AP / Jacques Brinon
Youths clash with riot police officers in Lyon, central France, Monday Oct. 18, 2010. AP / Laurent Cipriani
Riot police officers surround a young woman during a student demonstrations in Lyon, central France, Monday Oct. 18, 2010. AP / Laurent Cipriani
A passerby looks on as youths shout slogans during a student demonstration, in the Champs Elysees, in Paris, Monday Oct. 18, 2010. AP / Thibault Camus
Youths face riot police officers during a student demonstration in Lyon, central France, Monday Oct. 18, 2010. AP / Laurent Cipriani
Riot police officers walk by an overturned car during a student demonstrations in Lyon, central France, Monday Oct.18, 2010. AP / Laurent Cipriani
Youths clash with riot police officers, unseen, in Nanterre, outside Paris, Monday Oct.18, 2010. AP / Jacques Brinon
Youths gather at an overturned car during a student demonstration in Lyon, central France, Monday Oct. 18, 2010. AP / Laurent Cipriani
High school children block their school with a banner reading "School children on strike" in Marseille, southern France, Monday Oct.18, 2010. AP / Claude Paris
Riot police officers detain a youth during a student demonstration in Lyon, central France, Monday, Oct.18, 2010. AP / Laurent Cipriani
French Union workers burn tires to block the entrance of the oil refinery of Grandpuits eastern of Paris, Monday, Oct. 18, 2010. Some oil workers pledged to keep up a protest at refineries, and one union warned of looming gasoline shortages as an open-ended strike against President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age to 62 entered its seventh day. AP / Francois Mori
A man throws boxes onto piles of garbage in Marseille, southern France, Monday Oct.18, 2010. Schools, trains, public transport and even garbage collection in Marseille have been blocked by strikes. AP / Claude Paris
French students demonstrate against retirement reform with "No to the reform" written on their faces on October 16, 2010 in Paris, France. Getty Images / Franck Prevel
Protestors climbed on a statue during a demonstration in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, with placard reading "Sarkozy scorns the democracy." AP / Thibault Camus
Protestors shout slogans during a demonstration in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. Saturday's march from the Place de la Republique in Paris was the fifth in a full month of protests that have swept this nation of 64 million people, affecting trains, subways, airports, hospitals, schools and other facilities. AP / Thibault Camus
French riot police officers detain a protestor during a demonstration in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. AP / Thibault Camus
Demonstrators hold trade union flags and placards during a demonstration in Bordeaux, southwestern France, Saturday Oct.16, 2010. AP / bob edme
Youths shoot slogans as they demonstrate in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. Saturday's march from the Place de la Republique in Paris was the fifth in a full month of protests that have swept this nation of 64 million people. AP / Thibault Camus
Demonstrators shout slogans from behind a banner reading 'Retirement', during a protest against the government plans to raise the age of retirement, in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. AP / Christophe Ena
People march during a protest in Marseille, southern France, Saturday Oct. 16, 2010. Diesel and jet fuel supplies were running low in parts of France as workers took to the streets for another nationwide protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age to 62. AP / Claude Paris
Steel workers from the nearby Fos-sur-Mer ArcelorMittal plant join a protestin Marseille, southern France, Saturday Oct. 16, 2010. AP / Claude Paris
People hold flares as they walk on October 16, 2010 in Lyon during a demonstration as part of a national day of mass rallies against pension reform. AFP/ Getty Images / Jean-Pierre Clatot
Smoke and flares surround protestors gathered during a National Union-Led demonstration against retirement reform on October 16, 2010 in Paris, France. Getty Images / Franck Prevel
A child holds a banner on the shoulders of a man during a demonstration in Lyon, central France, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. AP / Laurent Cipriani
Police officers detain a high school student during a demonstration against retirement reforms in Lyon, central France, Friday, Oct. 15, 2010. AP / Laurent Cipriani
Students demonstrate in front of their college "Les Eucalyptus" in Nice, southeastern France, Friday, Oct. 15, 2010. AP / Lionel Cironneau
High school children scuffle with police officers during a demonstration against retirement reforms in Lyon, central France, Friday, Oct. 15, 2010. AP / Laurent Cipriani
High school students face police officers during a demonstration against retirement reforms in Lyon, central France, Friday, Oct. 15, 2010. AP / Laurent Cipriani
French CGT union members of the National Corsica Mediterranean Company (SNCM) demonstrate with a pirate flag and flares in Marseille's old port aboard ferry shuttles on October 15, 2010 during a protest against the governement pensions reform. AFP/ Getty Images / Anne-Christine Poujoulat
High school students vote during a general assembly during their protest against the pension reform, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010 in Rennes, western France. AP / David Vincent
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