France immobilized in a new day of marches and strikes for Macron’s pension reform

Started this Tuesday at second day of protests against the French government’s plan to raise the retirement age to 64. strike felt strongly in public passenger transport, education and the energy sector. The detractors of the reform hope to overcome the massive mobilization of January 19th.

French union leaders hope to achieve more than a million people in the square on Tuesday, in a fresh clash with the government over its plan to raise the retirement age in France.

Protest actions against the reform project promoted by the French government have begun to be felt in transport, with traffic on metro and suburban trains “very disturbed” in the Paris region and on the TGV high-speed train. The situation is even more difficult for regional trains.

The strike is also evident in public education, where half of the teachers from kindergarten to high school he had no intention of working.

Almost two weeks after more than a million people took to the streets, according to the authorities – double that for the unions – opponents expect many more demonstrators in France, where the rejection of the current reform progress in public opinion.

From small islands to big cities, French workers marched on Tuesday in a fresh clash with the government over its plan to raise the retirement age.

The nationwide strikes and protests have been a major testing ground for both sides. This was stated by the government of French President Emmanuel Macron he was determined to keep his campaign promise reform the pension system.

Left-wing lawmakers and unions who resisted Macron’s plans in parliament were counting on mass demonstrations to fuel their efforts to undermine reform.

Veteran leftist leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon predicted a “historic day” of protests and a defeat for Macron, when crowds began marching into cities and towns outside Paris ahead of a huge demonstration scheduled for the following Tuesday through the French capital.

We don’t often see this kind of mass mobilization, Mélenchon said in the southern city of Marseille. It is a form of citizen insurrection.

On the small island of Ouessant off the western tip of Brittany, about 100 people gathered outside the office of the mayor, Denis Palluel, to demonstrate on Tuesday morning, he said.

In a telephone conversation with the Associated Press, Palluel said the prospect of having to work for more years has alarmed the island’s sailors, who work hard at sea.

“Retiring at a reasonable age is important, because life expectancy isn’t very long,” he said.

The first round of actions gathered between one and two million protesters this month, including many tens of thousands in Paris. Unions aimed to match or even better those numbers on Tuesday, with another large protest called for Tuesday afternoon in Paris and some 250 rallies scheduled elsewhere. The government has mobilized 11,000 policemen to monitor the protests.

Positions were deteriorating on both sides when the parliamentary battle began over the government bill that would have raised the retirement age from 62 to 64.

An “essential” reform, according to Macron

Macron described the reform on Monday as “essential”. Her prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, insisted last weekend that raising the retirement age “is no longer negotiable”.

strikers and protesters They were trying to prove otherwise.

Rail operator SNCF on Tuesday warned of serious complications on its network due to the strikes. He recommended passengers cancel or postpone their trips and work from home if possible.

The disruptions also affected some schools and other sectors. Radio France Inter was broadcasting music instead of its regular talk shows and apologized to its listeners because employees were on strike.

The debate in Parliament

The new day of protest could increase tension in the National Assembly (lower house), which on Monday began examining the reform in committee and which he has less than a week to debate the 7,000 amendments presented before it reaches plenary on Monday.

Conservatives raise their calls to lend their support.

With the already announced rejection of the Nupes Front of the left and the far right, the government expects the support of the right-wing party Los Republicanos (LR), in favor of reform but divided on it, acknowledged his deputy Stéphane Viry .

Knowing that their votes are crucial, LR their demands increase on the reform on some of the most unpopular points: better consideration for women without a continuous working career, for those who started working young, etc.

However, the postponement of retirement to 64 years and the advance to 2027 of the contribute 43 years –and not 42 as now– to collect a full pension crystallizes the opposition of public opinion, which advances despite the government’s effort to convince.

From The Hague, Emmanuel Macron, 45, defended an “essential” reform to “save” a system which, according to the government, would run into a deficit in the future.

Associated Press and RFI

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