[ More than 1.2 million protesters marched in France Tuesday as
rail workers and refinery staff began rolling strikes and trade unions
stepped up their campaign to try to stop Emmanuel Macron’s plan to
raise the pension age to 64. ]
[[link removed]]

MORE THAN 1.2 MILLION MARCH IN FRANCE OVER PLAN TO RAISE PENSION AGE
TO 64  
[[link removed]]


 

Angelique Chrisafis
March 7, 2023
The Guardian
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ More than 1.2 million protesters marched in France Tuesday as rail
workers and refinery staff began rolling strikes and trade unions
stepped up their campaign to try to stop Emmanuel Macron’s plan to
raise the pension age to 64. _

Protesters demonstrate in Paris against the government's planned
reform of the pension system., Photograph: Mohammed Badra/EPA // The
Guardian

 

For the sixth time since the start of the year, trade unions called a
nationwide day of strikes and demonstrations. Many protest rallies
attracted bigger crowds than previous ones organised since
mid-January, including in Marseille, one of France’s biggest cities,
authorities and local media said.

“The idea is to bring France to a standstill,” said Fabrice
Michaud of the railway workers’ branch of the CGT trade union.

Rail unions called for rolling, open-ended strikes, which could affect
all national trains as well as international routes including the
Eurostar. Bin collectors and truck drivers joined the action.

By midday, approximately 39% of workers at the state rail operator
SNCF were on strike, a union source told Agence France-Presse – the
highest number since the first strike against the pension changes on
19 January.

Local urban buses and subway trains in large cities were affected, as
were airlines, with up to 30% of flights cancelled on Tuesday and
Wednesday as air traffic controllers went on strike. About 24% of
public sector workers stopped work, and many schools closed as
teachers held a one-day strike. Some students, including at Rennes 2
University in Brittany, began blockading faculties on Monday night.

Refinery and energy workers also took part in strikes. The CGT union
said fuel deliveries from refineries across France had been blocked
from Tuesday morning, which could see petrol stations running short if
the protests continue.

“The government has to take this [resistance] into account when
there are so many people in the street, when the government is having
so much trouble explaining and passing their reform,” Laurent
Berger, the head of the moderate CFDT union, said at a Paris
demonstration.

Macron’s proposals to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 and
increase the number of years of work required to claim a full pension
are being debated in the French senate.

Macron has been left severely undermined on the domestic front after
his centrist grouping failed to win an absolute majority
[[link removed]] in
parliamentary elections last June amid gains for the far right and
radical left. 

Without a majority, the government must rely on the rightwing Les
Républicains to back pensions changes, but their senators and
lawmakers are pressing for alterations.

Discussions are forecast to conclude by the end of March. It is
expected that a committee made up of legislators from both houses of
parliament will seek a potential deal on a joint version of the text,
to eventually be presented for approval at the national assembly and
then the senate. But tensions remain as to the level of support.

The government is determined to press on with the pensions changes,
and its spokesperson said there were more important issues facing the
country than the strikes, such as the cost of living crisis.

“I can understand that not many people want to work two more years,
but it’s necessary to ensure the viability of the system,” the
prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, told France 5 TV.

An Ifop
[[link removed]] poll
for the Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche found that only 32% of
French people supported Macron’s pension changes. An Elabe
[[link removed]] poll
found 56% of French people supported rolling strikes, and 59% backed
the call to bring the country to a standstill.

==========

All education unions in France have joined together to call for
continuous general strike starting on March 7 to defend pensions 

This is a big deal because, up until now, the mobilization in
education has been relatively weak. Even the most moderate French ed
union, the SNALC, has signed on

* France
[[link removed]]
* Pensions
[[link removed]]
* pension
[[link removed]]
* Social Security
[[link removed]]
* Strikes
[[link removed]]
* Trade Unions
[[link removed]]
* Emmanuel Macron
[[link removed]]
* retirement age
[[link removed]]
* French workers
[[link removed]]
* CGT
[[link removed]]
* CGT Union
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]

Manage subscription
[[link removed]]

Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]