France woke up this Tuesday struck by the first measures of the strike called by the unions to protest against the reform of the pension system proposed by the government of Emmanuel Macron. There were already checkpoints at some urban centers on Monday, and into the early hours of Tuesday obstructions to prevent fuel from escaping in the most important refineries in the country.
This Tuesday, the sixth day of demonstrations since January 19, is considered ‘D-day’ for those seeking to force the government to withdraw its reform which delaying the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030and bring forward to 2027 the requirement to have 43 years of contributions (and not 42, as now) to collect a full pension.
The SNCF railway company and the Paris transport system foresee serious traffic disruptions Tuesday and Wednesday. As for aviation, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) asked airlines to reduce flight hours by between 20 and 30% on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The main education union, Snuipp-FSU, anticipates this “more than 60%” of primary school teachers go on strike and “several thousand schools” will remain closed on Tuesday. Twenty cuts are expected in universities.
“The responsibility lies exclusively with the government. You cannot turn a deaf ear to this social movement,” CGT leader Philippe Martinez told France Info, noting that they are entering a “new phase” with strikes that can be extended.
After weeks of unsuccessful peaceful protests, including the largest in three decades against a social reform on January 31 with 1.27 million people, according to police (2.8 million, for the CGT), now they try to “cripple” the economy.
FO leader Frédéric Souillot told RTL radio that the unions hoped to bring “more than two million” people to the streets. A police source estimates that between 1.1 and 1.4 million will participate in the sixth day of protests.
The Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, on Monday evening he called this goal “irresponsible”.on France 5, now focused on discrediting the opposition movement after failing to convince it of the need for reform.
A resisted reform and a determined government
According to polls, two out of three French people oppose plans to postpone the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 and bring forward to 2027 the requirement of 43 years of contributions to collect a full pension.
The government says the aim of raising one of the lowest retirement ages in Europe is to avoid a future pension fund deficit, in a context of increasing life expectancy of the population.
His attempts to convince the need for this reform did not bear fruit in public opinion, albeit in Parliament it has the support of the right-wing opposition to move it forward.
The last time the French managed to stop a pension reform was in 1995. Unions paralyzed rail and metro services for three weeks and managed to maintain massive public support.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.