The French are preparing for a new mass strike against the pension reform promoted by Macron

It is expected to be the hardest blow in modern US history France. To demonstrate against pension reform, you don’t have to go far from home. The trade union is organizing more than 260 demonstrations across the country against the government project, which seeks to push back the legal retirement age to 64, among other amendments to the pension system.

“Stop France” It is the slogan of the sixth day of mobilization on March 7. Organizers warn that it will be the decisive day to stop the retirement reform promoted by the president, Emmanuel Macron. For trade union organisations, the challenge is to repeat the major strikes of 1995 that protested a change to the then prime minister’s pension scheme. Alain Juppéwhich is still a reference in the history of social struggles.

The government project has already passed through National Assembly And at the moment he is being treated in Senate, a body that has until March 12 to resolve the 3,000 existing amendments. That is why the Conservatives expect a strong mobilization. This is what they knew for Elysee Palace regional intelligence services. “There will be a lot of people,” warned the director of one of the departments, who, like his colleagues, did so without identifying himself.

Fear is a severe siege of key sectors of the country. The security forces will try to ensure the provision of a minimum level of emergency services in hospitals, fire stations and airports, but obstacles to refineries will be almost inevitable.

Unions call for protests (CGT, FO, CFDT, FSU, Unsa, CFTC, Solidaires, etc.) Provide a packing plan. The movement seeks to be strong and will be closely watched by the government.

Opinion polls show that the majority of French people support the idea “Stop France” Against this initiative, according to a recent opinion poll in to praise to the news network bfmtv Posted on Monday. The poll reflects that 56% of the French “support the establishment of a renewable strike from March 7 and in the following days” and 59% “commit to the action of the unions to” stop France “this Tuesday.

Approval of a renewable strike is particularly high among workers (70%) and employees (74%) and among left-leader voters. But Macron’s proposal is rejected even by professionals: in this sector, the majority of those surveyed support the continuation of unemployment, even 64% of executives and intellectual professions support it.

It will be an important day for Macron’s second five-year term. Transport Minister Clement Bonne said on a screen French 3 That one of the most difficult days we have known is going to unfold.

But unfortunate were the statements of the government spokesman. In an effort to mitigate social rejection, Olivier Veran I insist on repeating that there are other priorities in the executive calendar. “We have other contingencies to manage in addition to reforming the pension system,” he said.

The response came quickly from the opposition. He replied, “You are right…so we must withdraw this fix quickly.” Boris FalludHead of the Socialist Group in the National Assembly on his Twitter account.

These words were contrary to the official story. For weeks now, PM Elizabeth Bourne He constantly talks about reform “the necessary”. This reform must be implemented “because if we do not implement it, we will jeopardize the ‘pay-as-you-go’ pension system,” Emmanuel Macron reiterated last December.

The government is anxiously awaiting a Senate vote on Article 7 which raises the legal age from 62 to 64. The deadline is March 12, by which time discussions should be expedited. They know in the Elysee Palace that the battle for public opinion over reform is lost, but most of them assume that reform will be voted on and implemented. The government wants quick approval and a closing of the page.

Despite all the speculation, the French warned that transport on Tuesday would be severely disrupted in all regions. On Thursday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation asked airlines to reduce their flight schedule by 20% at the airport Paris Charles de Gaulle and 30% at airports Paris OrlyAnd Beauvais, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Marseille, Montpellier, Nice and Toulouse.

Some truck drivers went on strike on Sunday evening, with a lockdown threatened on the eve of the strike. Another strong warning made CGT for hydrocarbon workers who called for a “renewed” strike on oil refineries with the aim of “disrupting the entire economy” in terms of fuel production, distribution and import.

In the energy sector, the procedures started a few days ago. The outage caused a drop in loads at the power plants, enough to put the system under strain and trigger the first alert threshold for the grid, though it did not cause a blackout.

Teaching also warns of high compliance. Garbage collectors are on the same line. “It is our contribution and participation in the union’s call to blockade the economy,” he said. Francois LewartowskiFederal Secretary L CGT for General Services.

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