They demonstrate for exploited parents and an increasingly uncertain future. They are calling for a radical change of system and are moving with the anxiety of those who feel they can have no more time. As France faces the eleventh straight week of protests against the pension reform wanted by Emmanuel Macron, the focus is mainly on the younger generation who have joined the protest en masse. And which, in addition to giving a new impetus to the squares, can now make a difference. Talking about it to ilfattoquotidiano.it is Salome Saqué27-year-old author of the book “Be young and shut up” (Payote editions), a provocative title and homage to one of the May 1968 posters “Be young and shut up”. Saqué is a journalist for the online investigative journal Blast and has become well known on social networks thanks to her insights into the economy, the environment and rights. She also works for France info e France5.
Let’s start with one of the most complex questions: how long can strikes last?
I think the protest will not calm down anytime soon. Will it stay that intense? It’s complicated to say, but there’s a deep-seated anger and discontent that can’t be resolved in a few weeks.
Was there a delayed arrival of young people in the mobilization?
From the beginning they have been present in the marches, but they were not in the majority. It was Macron’s decision not to let the National Assembly vote on the pension reform, interpreted as a denial of democracy, that triggered their massive mobilisation. And according to the latest estimates they represent about a third of the marches.
What are the themes they fight for?
They are demonstrating against the pension reform, but have also introduced other issues: job insecurity, job difficulties, the climate. We have seen slogans emerge such as “Pas de retraite pas de planète” (“No pension, no planet” ed) which are linked to the fight against global warming and which attack France’s climate inaction. And they are also demonstrating for their families: even if they are not retiring soon, they are witnesses of the difficult conditions of their parents.
What effect do you think they will have on the mobilization?
They are at the forefront and give a second impetus to the protest. I think they can make a difference to the success of the mobilization. They have different ways of getting involved from the older ones: they will probably respect the traditional union scheme less, they will participate more in unauthorized demonstrations and a part of them is taking a certain radical approach. This can make them speak out even more against the police crackdown. Which is extremely disturbing.
Is there a new way of relating to work at the basis of their protest?
Yes, they have a different view of it than the older ones. They face a more precarious market, have different access conditions and arrive in a context of trouble in the neoliberal system where the labor market is flexible and the ecological crisis upsets the relationship with the consumer society. And by force of work. This leads some young people to ask questions about what they want to do in life. There are more and more young people who contest the capitalist system and the idea of working all their lives. In the marches there were slogans that said: “We don’t want to lose our life to gain it.” And I think this is quite representative of the state of mind. Young people, almost everywhere in Europe, are rethinking their relationship with work. And they prioritize personal time and balance with private life. It doesn’t mean that they don’t want to work anymore, it means that they want to work differently, better and above all for things they consider useful. In the marches there is a contestation of the labor market as it is now.
In your opinion, young people as political actors are discredited?
They are not taken seriously on many issues. And that’s nothing new. There has always been a discrediting of the word of young people because by definition they have less experience. Today it is expressed above all in the media, in books and in the political word. And they are scapegoats in the event of a crisis. These clichés are harmful, we absolutely must overcome them because we are facing an unprecedented crisis which is the ecological one and there is a very particular situation: our future as young people depends on the decisions that are taken today by the older ones. It’s an unprecedented timing because we can’t wait for a generational renewal to have a new society. We need immediate change to preserve the future for future generations. And this, for some of the older people, is extremely difficult to understand.
If on the one hand they demonstrate a new activism, on the other they continue to desert the polls. Why do you think?
Today’s mobilization in France demonstrates that young people are by no means disinterested and on the contrary are engaged in society in their own way. They simply don’t use the traditional systems to participate such as voting, trade unions, parties. Today there are new methods: associationism, commitment on the internet, boycotts or participation through one’s work. For example with the choice of different jobs. There is a part of this generation that engages in other forms of action which are sometimes incomprehensible to the older ones. I think the historically low vote rate of young people is linked to various things: first of all to the general democratic struggle and then because they are not electorally interesting for politicians since they are in the minority: in France there are twice as many over 60s as those with between 18 and 29 years old. So the political men and women turn to the older ones. And when they are in power, like Macron, they do not implement policies aimed at young people. Then there are the material reasons: in France you cannot vote online and the procedures for doing it remotely are not simple. And there is a lack of information on many of the intermediate elections. Many don’t even know when they take place.
Is the agenda of the new generations opposite to that of the older ones?
There is a real generational conflict and it is quite clear in the figures. Young people in France, in the last presidential and legislative elections, voted above all for the radical left, a party that puts issues of social justice, the fight against discrimination and ecology at the centre. On the contrary, those over 65 voted for more conservative parties, therefore from the republican right or the party of Emmanuel Macron which today pursues very liberal policies. These are clearly in favor of preserving the heritage of the elderly and are not at all in favor of the fight against global warming.
In your opinion, has youth activism moved online?
I think demonstrations still have a very important role. One out of two young people in France has already demonstrated, a very important figure and even higher than that of the 1970s. This is a mobilization that can be reserved for increasingly radical young people as the road has become increasingly dangerous. The various recent demonstrations have been very harshly repressed by the police, as reported by Amnesty International. Also for this reason, there are many young people who have decided to mobilize in a different way. I think the internet plays a central role in spreading messages and freeing the word. And we have also seen it in these strikes. Macron’s behavior has also been criticized by non-political influencers with millions of subscribers. And who have played a role in the mobilization of young people.
What effect does police violence have on the mobilization of young people?
They increase anger. And what makes even more angry is the denial by the government. The interior minister has stated that there are none. But everyone can see the videos and everyone can see it in the field. The fact that the government not only does not oppose police violence, but even denies that it takes place, causes a strong disappointment. But it can also have a dissuasive effect: there are young people who no longer want to go because the police are too violent and their parents don’t want to. So it’s a double-edged sword.
The government shows no sign of slowing down, what drives young people to return to the streets?
Motivation is not difficult to find because there is a discontent that comes from afar. It is found in the anger and disillusionment of a part of the French who are facing increasingly high inflation, a deterioration of their living conditions and who see lying politicians around. What fueled the anger were the lies and then the contempt of the President of the Republic himself. And the impression is that inequalities do not stop increasing.
And on a practical level?
There has been a big increase in the strike coffers: they are donations from those who don’t go to demonstrate or have the means, and which make it possible to redistribute part of the money. This makes the strike last. And then also the fairly massive support of public opinion. We have seen strikes broken because the movement split and because it was stigmatised. This time it doesn’t work. Public opinion supports those who demonstrate, the government is increasingly a minority and clearly isolated.
*The author’s featured photo is by Hugo Le Beller