Having already announced how the next appointment is set for next Thursday the 13th of the month, the French unions carried out today the eleventh consecutive round of the rolling strike mobilizations which they started about two months ago. The next strike mobilization will take place one day before the French Constitutional Council decides whether and to what extent the procedures for reforming the pension system, which the government followed, are compatible with the country’s Constitution, as well as whether a referendum is possible on the issue.

Mass demonstrations – although admittedly on a smaller scale than last week – were organized again today in all major cities of the country, while there were sporadic incidents and clashes between protesters and police forces.

In Paris the left-wing CGT union announced that 400,000 people took part in the demonstration, while the police announced 57,000 people. Last week the union had spoken about 450,000 protesters and the police for 93,000 protesters. The unions also today accused President Macron of inflexibility, speaking of a “democratic crisis”.

French press reports showed the French president, who is on an official visit to China, replying indignantly that “when an elected president implements a plan through democratic means, it is not called a crisis of democracy” and that “if people wanted to retire at 60 they should not elect me as president of the Republic”. Finally, according to the reports, the French president said that the country has not been paralyzed and that the percentage of workers participating in strikes is historically low.