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PARIS (Reuters) - French power grid operator RTE said on Thursday that an illegal act of sabotage that was likely to be linked to the protests over pensions reform had resulted in a new electricity cut affecting 12,000 households in Beauvais, near Paris.

The grid operator added that, as with previous illegal cuts to power, it would file a criminal complaint.

Earlier this week, French trade unions defended their decision to cut power to thousands of homes, companies and even the Bank of France to force the government to drop a wide-ranging pension reform.