France’s trade unions warned on the 7th (local time) that a large-scale strike against pension reform would “paralyze the whole country.” Labor unions in various fields such as railroads, aviation, logistics, energy, and agriculture have decided to go on strike, raising concerns not only about traffic disruptions but also about supply and demand problems due to delays in agricultural products distribution.
According to French broadcaster BMFTV on the 5th, General Confederation of Labor (CGT) Secretary-General Philippe Martinez said in an interview with local media on the 6th, “The 7th is the starting point for the (pension reform) protests to expand.” “The ball now belongs to the president. Even if President Emmanuel Macron is stubborn (to pension reform), we will not give up (to oppose pension reform).”
AFP predicted some 260 protests across the country. There are also observations that 1.1 to 1.4 million people will protest on the streets that day. If some 1.4 million people show up, it will be the largest protest in France in decades. On January 31 this year, 1.27 million people attended the protest against pension reform.
It seems that traffic disruptions are inevitable as unions in various fields join the strike. According to the French daily Le Monde, the French National Railways Corporation (SNCF) said, “Service will be severely disrupted on all passenger routes we operate.” According to SNCF, intercity train service will not be affected, but service on some high-speed rail lines will be suspended on average by about a fifth. One in five flights were also canceled.
Truck driver unions are set to strike at key logistics points. The Federation of Farmers is also going on strike in solidarity with the union. In particular, slaughterhouse workers who are demanding wage increases decided to participate. “The union has decided to suspend production from the evening of the 6th to the 10th,” said the federation’s general secretary, Frederic Souillo and Federal Secretary-General for Agriculture and Food Affairs Patricia Drebon. “There may be less meat on supermarket shelves next weekend. ”, LeMonde reported.
The CGT Mining and Energy Federation, which has a majority of workers in the electricity and gas industries, is even considering shutting down nuclear power plants. They threatened, “If President Emmanuel continues pension reform, the house will be completely dark.”
The French government is pursuing a pension reform that will delay the start of pension benefits by raising the retirement age from the current 62 to 64 by 2030. According to this, the period for paying pension premiums to receive 100% of the pension will also increase from 42 years to 43 years by 2027.
The French Senate will begin deliberation on the reform bill on the 2nd and finish the deliberation by the 12th. Previously, the House of Representatives deliberated the bill for two weeks last month, but there were too many amendments, so it was passed to the Senate without review.
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Source: Donga
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