Hundreds of thousands of people protested again across France on Saturday to keep up the pressure on government plans to reform pensions, including a move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Unions are hoping to match the mass turnout of Jan. 19, when more than a million people marched against the reform proposal. The idea is to attract people of all ages to show the government that anger against the project runs deep.
“If they’re not able to hear what’s going on in the streets and they’re not able to understand what’s going on with people, well, they shouldn’t be surprised that it blows up at some point,” Delphine Maisonneuve told Reuters. a 43 year old nurse.
The French spend the most retired years among OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, a benefit that polls show most people are reluctant to give up.
For President Emmanuel Macron, the reform is “vital” to guarantee the viability of the social security system.
In the midwestern city of Tours, where turnout appeared substantially higher than in mid-January, 40-year-old firefighter Anthony Chauveau told Reuters that opposing reform was crucial because the difficulties of his job simply did not were being taken into account.
“They’re telling us we’ll need to work two more years. Our life expectancy is shorter than most workers.”
Peaceful protests in Paris were partially marred by minor clashes. A car and some garbage cans were set on fire and police forces used tear gas and stun grenades in an attempt to disperse some of the more radical demonstrators.
In a joint statement ahead of Saturday’s marches, all major unions called on the government to withdraw the bill. They warned that they would try to paralyze France from March 7 if their demands were not met. A new strike is scheduled for February 16.
“If the government remains deaf, the inter-union group will call for France to be closed down,” they said.
The protests are the first on a weekend, when workers are not required to strike or take time off. They take place after the first week of debate on pension legislation in Parliament.
The opposition suggested thousands of amendments to complicate the debate and ultimately try to force the government to pass the bill without a parliamentary vote, by decree, a measure that could jeopardize the remainder of Macron’s term, re-elected in April 2022 for five years.
Raising the retirement age by two years and extending the contribution period would yield an additional €17.7 billion in annual pension contributions, allowing the system to break even by 2027, according to Ministry of Labor estimates.
Unions say there are other ways to do this, such as taxing the super-rich or asking wealthy employers or pensioners to contribute more.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
