In Baiona there will be a demonstration, starting at 10:30 am, against the measure that will raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. It is expected that a third of the schools will close and the traffic of trains and subways will be greatly affected.
Iparralde and France face this Thursday a first day of strikes and demonstrations, which could paralyze part of the country, to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plan that will extend the minimum retirement age to 64. The main protest in Iparralde will take place at 10:30 am in Baiona where a demonstration will start from the vicinity of the Labor Exchange building.
According to the convening unions —to which LAB and ELB have joined, among others—, transport will be one of the most affected sectors in the entire State. Likewise, public services such as schools will be affected, as well as important infrastructure such as refineries. It is also expected that many health professionals will support the strike.
The objective of the unions is that this Thursday is the beginning of large mobilizations that force the Executive to back down, just as they achieved in 1995 when a pension reform project with the conservative president Jacques Chirac was withdrawn due to intense pressure from the street, even despite the government’s absolute majority in Parliament.
The French government, for its part, has urged that union mobilization not become a “blockade of the country.” A total of 10,000 police officers, of which 3,500 will be stationed in Paris, will ensure that the day runs without incident, as announced by the Ministry of the Interior.
The government proposal plans to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 and bring forward the increase from 42 to 43 years of contribution to 2027 in order to enjoy a full retirement (until now planned for 2035).
The Executive ensures that the reform is necessary because otherwise it will generate a deficit in the pension system that would reach 12,500 million euros in 2030.
Source: Eitb
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