French take to the streets Thursday – Protest against Macron’s pension reform

Between halted trains and closed schools, France is preparing for a day of mass strikes tomorrow Thursday against pension reforma project that tests President Emmanuel Macron’s ability to push through these changes and more broadly his political credibility in a divided country.

The plan and the most important measure, which provides for an increase in the age limit from 62 to 64 years, runs up against a united trade union front and wider public disapproval according to opinion polls.

At the political level, the stakes are high for a government that does not have a majority in the National Assembly. The left and the extreme right are fiercely opposedwith only the traditional right offering a possibility of compromise.

At least 10,000 police and gendarmes, including 3,500 in Paris, will be mobilized to ensure the safety of the demonstrations, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanen announced.

The minister added that authorities expect the arrival in Paris of “about a thousand” protesters “who may be violent”, referring to “ultra-leftists” and “ultra-yellows” — a reference to the most radical members of the social and economic protest of the “yellow vests” that rocked France in 2018/2019.

The representative of the government, Olivier Veran, asked for his part not to turn the mobilization “into a blockade” of the country.

“It will be a Thursday of strong transport disruption,” Deputy Transport Minister Clément Bonn said, urging people using public transport to postpone their journeys or work remotely if they can.

Civil aviation has asked airlines to preemptively cancel one in five flights at Paris’ Orly airport tomorrow due to a strike by air traffic controllers.

On the railways, the national railway company SNCF provides serious disturbances with one in three high-speed (TGV) trains running, even one in five depending on the line, and just one in ten regional trains on average.

The Paris metro will also be understaffed, with three lines closed, another ten open “only during peak hours” and “risk of saturation” on the last three, according to Paris transport RATP.

Addressing the drivers who express fears of a lack of fuel due to work stoppages at the refineries, the minister estimated that “precautionary measures should not be taken” because now there is no blockade.

In practice, some gas stations have already run dry because many drivers filled their tanks in case they ran out of fuel.

Strikes are also planned in the electricity sector with possible production interruptions.

Many will have to stay home with their children as 70% of teachers will go on strike and many schools will close completely — “at least a third” in Paris — according to the largest primary school teachers’ union.

Admitting that it is impossible to predict the scale of the mobilization in the private sector, the head of the powerful CGT union, Philippe Martínez, estimated that there would be “in some large groups, strike rates approaching 60, 70%” and wished the continuation of mobilization “where possible”.

The pension is part of the campaign promises of President Macron who was re-elected last year. Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne will defend the measure to unions and MPs.

Unions mainly highlight issues related to workers who started working at a very young age, or who are in physically demanding occupations.

For her part, Bourne speaks of a “fair plan”, assuring that “four out of ten French people who are more vulnerable, poorer, those who practice difficult professions, will be able to leave work before the age of 64”.

A previous plan, in 2019, was withdrawn under strong social pressure and the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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