Today is a decisive day in France with regard to the reform, wanted by Emmanuel Macron, which for almost two months has been putting the whole country in turmoil. The pension reform, which wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 yearswas adopted this morning in the Senate and will be submitted to a vote in the National Assembly at 3 pm this afternoon.
Yesterday March 15, while the joint joint commission, a body that brings together seven deputies and seven senators, was adopting the common text of the reform that will be submitted today to the vote of the lower house, it was held throughout the country the eighth day of mobilization since the beginning of the protest, on January 19. 1.7 million demonstrators took to the streets according to unions (480,000 according to the Interior Ministry) and all eight major union organizations were united against a reform widely contested by public opinion.
In these (almost) two months of strikes and demonstrations, in which it has come to “paralyze” the country, as during the historic day of March 7, various professional categories have gradually joined the movement and some key sectors, such as energy, transport or even garbage collectors, have engaged in an “all-out strike”. The objective is clear: to go to hit the country’s economy to intensify pressure on the government in the long term, and no longer just through single demonstrations that don’t seem to move the executive. Thus, if waste has been invading Paris and other French cities for days, the garbage collectors have announced the extension of their strike until March 20, while for example most of the refineries continue to be, even if partially, shut down.
Until the withdrawal of the reform – Faced with a government that has so far shown no signs of letting up, protesters and unions therefore do not intend to loosen their grip. Last Saturday, during the seventh day of mobilization, Lawrence Bergergeneral secretary of the CFDT trade union, told Rtl that, if the government had to resort to article 49.3 of the Constitution which allows for a bill to be adopted without the vote of the Assembly, “it would be a sort of democratic vice”.
It is in fact one of the possible scenarios for the government which, despite the general support of the Republicans, does not have the certainty of achieving an absolute majority. But for protesters and trade unionists, little will change if the reform is approved by the Assembly or thanks to 49.3. Because in any case, even if this were to be the scenario, “we will continue to fight until the reform is withdrawn”, he assured ilfattoquotidiano.it Amar Lagha, general secretary of the Commerce and Services federation of the CGT, among the first French trade unions. Among the past examples that encourage the strikers, in addition to the historical one of the withdrawal of a pension reform in 1995there is also the one dating back to 2006when an important student movement, supported by political parties and trade unions, had obtained the withdrawal of a law for the creation of a “first employment” contract, although this had already been adopted. Among the demonstrators, many high school and university students are in fact giving their contribution to the protest, even occupying schools on several occasions.
“In 2006 the law had been voted in the Senate and the National Assembly. For ten days we continued to demonstrate and it was withdrawn”, he reminded ilfattoquotidiano.it Bertrand Hammache at the head of the CGT RATP, a public body that manages transport in Paris and its suburbs and whose employees are now engaged in an “all-out strike”, which consists of a renewed strike, on the decision of the employees, several days in a row. “We continue stubbornly. We are convinced that this law will not pass, or in any case will not be applied given that public opinion is with us”, underlined the trade unionist. Indeed, according to a poll, 67% of the population approves of the mobilization against the pension reform, and 62% of the French would like it to go ahead even if the law were to be approved this afternoon.
Hit the economy – “There is no salvation without a struggle” is precisely one of the slogans of the CGT, he continues Embrace. A fight that doesn’t take place only in the squares, but wants to hit the heart of the economy. “We think we should push more on the all-out strike than on days like this,” he said Law from the procession that slowly begins to set off on this eighth day of demonstrations. “You have to hit the economy, period. My sector, commerce, is less visible, but this morning for example we locked down Disneyland’s central kitchenand 7,000 meals ended up in the trash,” he said.
Other, more visible sectors, such as energy, are on the same wavelength. Mathieu Stefgegne, technician of Enedis, a public company that manages the distribution of electricity, is convinced of this: “The individual events no longer work. The only way to be heard is to take back our work tool and switch off the electricity. We have done it in the stadium, in data centers, in different commercial areas… we have no choice and we will continue to do it ”, he specified.
Some actions considered more radical are coming forward. Several pro-reform politicians suffered targeted power outages, as some 300 protesters threw rubbish in front of the presidential party headquarters on Tuesday.”Renaissance” to “remember that people are on strike,” he said Simon Duteilco-delegate general of Solidarity at the AFP. “We approve 100%”, said Hammache, “there was time for demonstrations, strikes, debates… we agreed on radicalizing the movement to create a reaction from the government”.
It remains, however, first of all to convince the workers to continue to strike, e “Gather as many people as possible” in the movement. To put pressure on the deputies, the unions will meet this afternoon in front of the National Assembly. Many are already reflecting on the “constitutional appeals” possible in the event of the promulgation of the law. Because, by now, “there is no turning back, we will fight to the end”, concluded Lagha.