The leader of La France Insoumisa, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has assured that this Saturday 150,000 people have participated in the new demonstration held in Paris to protest against the pension reform project that includes an increase in the retirement age.
“150,000 people have gathered for the March on January 21 in Paris. Congratulations to the youth organizations for having managed to mobilize so widely #PurNuestrasPensiones. Let’s continue!” Mélenchon posted on Twitter.
The president of the union The Voice of the Institutes, Colin Champion, has reproduced this same figure and has highlighted the “great success” of the call.
The Police will not give official figures, but police sources cited by the BFMTV chain point to some 12,000 people attending, since as a rule they do not give numbers when the call is from a political party. The demonstration is the initiative of a dozen youth associations, but La Francia Insumisa has been the one that has formally convened.
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Mélenchon has taken the floor at the end of the march to charge against the French president, Emmanuel Macron. “You have transformed into merchandise what was previously disinterested love, self-sacrifice, human construction from generation to generation. This is what you want to do, Mr. Macron, damn it!” He charged.
“They want to turn our entire existence into a commodity as they have done with healthcare, as they are doing with education at the expense of this monstrous rudeness called Parcoursup. Down with Parcoursup!”, he added in reference to the application to request access to the university that, according to the Government, intends to promote meritocracy.
Mélenchon has called on young people to defend the rights of workers and retirees in the same fight. “Long live life! Down with death!” He snapped.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the main cities of France last Thursday, January 19, in a general strike to protest against the pension reform promoted by the Government and which proposes, among other measures, raising the retirement age to the 64 years.