The French called for demonstrations today, against the pension reform that they resent and that President Emmanuel Macron wants, in a seventh day of protest that constitutes a test for the continued confrontation between the government and the unions.
The previous day of mobilization against this reform witnessed huge movements on Tuesday, as it set a record for the number of people who took to the streets, exceeding the peak that was recorded on January 31, according to figures from the French Ministry of the Interior, “1.28 million demonstrators” and the unions, “more than three million.” “.
Today is the seventh day of continuous movements since January 19 against this reform, including raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years, which is opposed by the majority of the French, according to opinion polls, considering it “unfair”, especially for women and workers in hard jobs.
And Labor Minister Olivier Dossault resorted to the weapon of the constitution “Article 44.3 of the Constitution” Friday to present the text to the Senate, which will vote on the entire bill while keeping only the amendments proposed or accepted by the government by Sunday, the deadline it set itself.
And the Council had voted on Wednesday night – Thursday on Article 7 of the reform, which raises the retirement age by two years, according to the “French” newspaper.
“We had 74 hours of discussion together” since February 2, Dosso said, adding that “with each article and despite the substantive discussions, obstruction became a systemic option.”
In response to this decision, the Energy Workers Union warned against an “escalation of anger”.
On the other hand, Macron said in a letter to the trade union federation on Thursday, “The government will keep listening about this reform,” stressing that it is necessary.
The French government chose to raise the statutory retirement age in response to the financial deterioration of pension funds and an aging population.
France is one of the European countries that adopts the lowest retirement age without the retirement systems being fully comparable with other countries.
On Friday, the Spanish government announced an agreement on how to calculate pensions, according to the European Commission’s request for European recovery plan funds, which means greater dependence on high-income people.
In the face of the threat posed by population aging, Madrid announced in November 2021 a broad agreement providing for an increase in contributions without raising the legal retirement age, to be raised to 67 in 2027.
The French president mortgages a large part of his political assets by approving this measure, which poisons his second term, thus confirming his declared desire for reform, which at the same time reflects the resentment of part of the French against him.
Macron showed his firmness, by not accepting the meeting with the unions, considering it “parliamentary time”, after the “consultations conducted” by Prime Minister Elizabeth Born and the amendments that were added to the text.
Yesterday evening, he announced that the reform of the pension system must reach its “ends” in Parliament, indicating that he does not rule out anything, including resorting to adopting the law without a vote, through Article 49.3 of the constitution, “which allows the government to adopt a legislative text without Vote, take responsibility for that.”
Across the country, protest is still strong, although France has not experienced the paralysis the unions would have liked. However, uncertainty remains about whether the renewed strikes that have taken place since Tuesday and affect key sectors of the economy, “transportation, energy…” will continue.
In Paris, rubbish is piling up in several districts as 3,700 tons of waste were not collected Thursday, according to the city council.
In turn, the French Air Transport Authority asked airlines to cancel 20 percent of their flights scheduled for today and tomorrow due to the strike of air traffic controllers opposed to the government project.
Also, the French General Railways announced Friday that the traffic will be “extremely turbulent”, pointing out that this will continue into the weekend.
Fabrice Codor, Secretary General of the Energy Workers Union, said, “The strikes will continue, especially in electricity production plants.” The strike of gas workers at all LNG terminals and gas storage facilities continues.