A general decline before a France “at a standstill”? For the fifth day of mobilization against the pension reform, in the middle of school holidays for zones A and B, the processions were less provided both in Paris and in the regions. The number of strikers is also less significant than during the first four days, with in particular 14% of strikers at the SNCF (compared to 25% last Tuesday) and 7.67% of teachers on strike (compared to 14.17% on 7 FEBRUARY).
From Saturday, from the various processions, the trade unions had announced that they were betting on March 7. Date on which they say they are ready to “put France to a halt”. In fact, this fifth day of mobilization is therefore the lowest in terms of attendance, both according to the unions and according to the authorities. 1.3 million demonstrators beat the pavement in France according to the CGT. The Ministry of the Interior reports 440,000 demonstrators. The Parisian takes stock.
Paris
From the middle of the afternoon, the CGT reported 300,000 demonstrators present in the Parisian procession, which set off from the Place de la Bastille to cross the Seine and reach the Place d’Italie (XIIIth arrondissement) . The police headquarters counted 37,000. On February 11, they were 500,000, again according to the unions, and 93,000 according to the authorities. “The idea today is not to make numbers, but to maintain the breath”, admitted the number 2 of the CFDT, Marylise Léon. Note that the firm Occurrence, which carries out an independent count, reports 33,000 demonstrators in Paris.
bleach
This is where the leaders of the trade union organizations met. According to the intersyndicale, 55,000 people took part in the parade organized in the capital for the fifth meeting of the protest against the pension reform, 10,000 according to the police. “A victory which shows that we were right to demonstrate in the Tarn”, estimated Philippe Martinez, the boss of the CGT. Since the start of the mobilization, the number of demonstrators there has fluctuated between 12,000 and 20,000 people. Laurent Berger (CFDT) and Frédéric Souillot (Force Ouvrière) were also present.
Marseille
Leaving at the end of the morning from the Old Port to reach the Porte d’Aix passing in front of the MuCEM, the Marseille demonstration brought together 90,000 demonstrators according to the unions, 7,000 according to the prefecture, report our colleagues from La Provence. The organizers counted 140,000 last Saturday.
Montpellier
A drop in mobilization was also noted in Montpellier, compared to the 4th day of mobilization on Saturday (7,200 participants against 20,000 according to the authorities). The organizers report the presence of 12,000 demonstrators.
Accustomed to the Marseille event, Jean-Luc Mélenchon was part of this time in the Hérault. “On March 7, everything is blocked, everything must stop everywhere,” insisted the leader of rebellious France to the journalists present on the spot. He welcomed this fifth day on social networks.
Bordeaux
In the Gironde prefecture, the ranks were also much more sparse there than for the 4th day of mobilization on Saturday with 8,000 participants against 13,500 according to the authorities. The unions indicate that they have identified nearly 30,000 demonstrators, according to information from France 3 Aquitaine, this is 50,000 less than on Saturday February 11.
Toulouse
Same observation in Toulouse, where the organizers counted 65,000 demonstrators, and the police 14,000, against 100,000 and 25,000 on February 11.
Rennes
As during the two previous days of mobilization, outbursts punctuated the Rennes demonstration. Rail traffic had to be cut off after demonstrators occupied the tracks on the sidelines of the parade. The CRS had dislodged the demonstrators at the very beginning of the afternoon, without using tear gas, and carried out at least one arrest.
Between 6,700 (according to the police) and 12,000 people (according to the unions) marched in the procession, a figure significantly down from the last days of the strike. The Rennes 2 university site has meanwhile been closed.
Douai, Saint-Étienne, a mobilization also in decline in medium-sized towns
Witnesses to the surge in mobilization last Saturday, medium-sized towns also marked time this Thursday, February 16. In the North, in Douai and Valenciennes, they were 2,000 according to the prefecture, against 3,200 on Saturday in these two cities. In the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in Digne-les-Bains, there were a thousand demonstrators, according to La Provence, against 7,000 last weekend according to the organizers in Manosque (where it had been relocated).
In the Loire, the unions counted 10,000 demonstrators in Saint-Étienne and 8,000 in Roanne. According to the prefecture, there were 4,450 in Saint-Étienne and 3,100 in Roanne (against 5,300 and 6,000 respectively last Saturday).