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Massive protests in France against the government’s pension reform

Massive protests in France against the government’s pension reform

With strikes and massive demonstrations in the streets, hundreds of thousands of French people today supported the call for mobilization launched by the unions against the reform of the pension system proposed by the President’s government Emmanuel Macrondetermined to approve it despite strong popular rejection.

“The mobilization is the image of what we read in the polls, that is, that a large majority of the citizens of this country are against this reform”affirmed Philippe Martínez, general secretary of the French General Confederation of Labor (CGT), from the head of the massive demonstration organized in Paris.

According to the unions, only in the capital some 400,000 people marched against the government’s plans and formed a human tide that expanded for hours between the Plaza de la República and the Plaza de la Nación. For the Ministry of the Interior, however, 80,000 people gathered in the capital.

Some of the demonstrators caused incidents and destruction for which 38 people were arrested.

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The one in Paris was the most important demonstration of muscle of the day of protests, which also spread throughout France, from Marseille to Nantes.

Nationwide, unions estimate that the target of two million protesters was exceeded, while the Interior Ministry lowered the figure to 1.1 million.

“The message is clear: No to the increase in the contribution time and no to the delay of the legal age of beginning of retirement. It is simple”Martinez stressed.

Along with the demonstrations, there were also strikes that were particularly felt in sectors such as public transport, which worked remarkably slowly on the railways and in large cities, or education.

The demonstrations have been “important”recognized at the end of the day the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, in statements to RTL radio, in which he indicated that it is a question “sensitive” for the French.

Protesters march during a demonstration in Strasbourg, eastern France, on January 19, 2023, as workers go on strike over the French president’s plan to raise the legal retirement age from 62 to 64. (Photo: AFP)

PULSE OF THE UNIONS TO MACRON

The unions were looking for a show of force today to stage the unpopularity of the retirement system reform project that French President Emmanuel Macron has placed among his government’s priorities for 2023.

The two main axes of the project, which the Executive defends as essential for the financial balance of the system, are the delay of the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 years by 2030 and the increase in the contribution period from 42 to 43 years for 2027 (so far planned for 2035) to enjoy the full pension.

“Here are all the organizations. It’s a big sign that people are angry.”asserted Gaelle Martínez, national secretary of the Solidaires union since the concentration in Paris.

“We want to have a good retirement, we do not want to reach retirement being broke, tired, broken (…) If the Government does not recover its reason there will be more” protests, warned, for his part, Laurent Escure, general secretary of the National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions (UNSA), from the head of the Parisian protest.

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At the end of the day, in fact, in an inter-union meeting a new joint protest with an inter-professional strike was agreed for next January 31st.

Parading with the unions today were smaller organizations and thousands of anonymous people, from students to workers close to retirement.

“We are here to say no, because it is also a question of vision of society. Do we want to be a society that uses the human being or do we want a society for the benefit of the human being?”asked Eliot Gafanesch, 17, from the organization La Voix Lycéenne, along with other young high school students.

A day of strikes and protests began in France on January 19, aimed at disrupting transportation and education across the country in a lawsuit for the government as workers oppose a deeply unpopular pension reform.  (Photo: AFP)

A day of strikes and protests began in France on January 19, aimed at disrupting transportation and education across the country in a lawsuit for the government as workers oppose a deeply unpopular pension reform. (Photo: AFP)

MACRON RULES OUT TO GIVE BACK

Despite the massive demonstrations, Macron, who was in Barcelona today for a Spanish-French summit, stated that the government is not going to back down on the reform.

“If we want to be fair between the generations and save our pay-as-you-go system, we must carry out this reform”he claimed.

However, given that the government party lost its absolute majority in the National Assembly in 2022, the Executive will need the support of at least one other party to carry out the project.

Protesters clash with riot police during a demonstration on the sidelines of a Franco-Spanish summit in Barcelona on January 19, 2023. (Photo: AFP)

Protesters clash with riot police during a demonstration on the sidelines of a Franco-Spanish summit in Barcelona on January 19, 2023. (Photo: AFP)

The conservatives of Los Republicanos (LR) are the only partner willing to support the initiative, which is directly rejected by the left and the extreme right.

The Executive assures that the reform is necessary because the system is going to generate a deficit that would reach 12.5 billion euros in 2030, while his detractors believe that the ultra-rich and the benefits of capital could be taxed to solve it.

Source: EFE

Source: Gestion

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