France’s electricity workers are threatening to pull the plug at the Cannes film festival as part of ongoing protests over pension changes. Members of the National Federation of Mines and Energy – a branch of the powerful CGT union – have announced “100 days of action and anger” that is expected to hit the movie industry’s annual event as well as other sports and cultural meetings. The announcement was made last week following the pledge by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, of a 100-day action plan to improve the daily lives of his compatriots after three months of demonstrations over his new law raising the official retirement age to 64. “Macron promised 100 days to appease, we promise him 100 days of action and anger! This is no time for resignation,” the union wrote in a statement. “In May, do whatever you like! The Cannes film festival, the Monaco Grand Prix, the French Open, the Avignon festival could be in the dark. We won’t give up!” The power cut threat came after a general meeting of the federation on Friday. “Our debates resulted in positions that were firm, unanimous and called for us going on the offensive,” it wrote, saying industrial action would be “imaginative”. Fabrice Coudour, the CGT Energy union’s secretary general, said the goal was not to “prevent events happening” but to have a platform for protests. “We want to show that we’re not turning the page and the anger is still present and we want to express it wherever we can. We want to be heard, in the media and locally … even the Cannes film festival. There are celebrities who share our point of view,” Coudour told BFM TV. The new legislation raises the official retirement age from 62 to 64 years and requires increased contributions for a full pension. After three months of protests and opposition, including rail strikes, fuel refinery blockades and civil unrest, Macron’s government pushed the law through parliament in March using an emergency constitutional tool that avoided a vote in the Assemblée Nationale. After France’s highest court, the constitutional council, approved the unpopular law, the president ignored calls to delay its enactment and inflamed an already volatile public mood by signing the bill hours later. A week ago, Macron attempted to calm widespread anger by promising concrete measures to improve health, education, employment and French households’ spending power by Bastille Day on 14 July. He then spent several days visiting parts of France where he was greeted with booing crowds bashing pots and pans. CGT Énergie has warned it will continue to hit presidential visits with “energy disruptions”. The union has also called for a “national day of anger” on 3 May, two days after the widespread protests and demonstrations expected on the May Day bank holiday. Last week, angry energy workers cut the power to Montpellier airport and a local school that Macron visited in protest, accusing the government of “anti-democratic methods”. The organisers of the 76th Cannes film festival, which takes place between 16 and 27 May, have not commented on the disruption threat. Last month a number of French stars including Juliette Binoche, Laure Calamy, Jonathan Cohen, Michel Hazanavicius and Camille Cottin were among 300 high-profile signatories of an open letter to Macron protesting at the way the bill was passed and demanding he withdraw the legislation. The letter stated: “Reason and democracy demand the immediate withdrawal of this pension reform. It is high time we made our voices heard because while the cinema, theatre and culture are sometimes about dreams and escapism they are above all works that relate to our world.” The signatories pointed out that the new law has a disproportionately negative effect on female artists. “Surveys have widely demonstrated that the precariousness (that could be a consequence) is even greater for women … for whom roles become rarer after the age of 50,” they said. The letter also urged Macron to stop “fragmenting” French society, adding there were more pressing issues to be addressed.