“300,000 people or 1 million is a drop in the bucket. The observation of Jean-Pierre, one of our readers, is clear. Saturday’s demonstration against the pension reform brought together significantly fewer demonstrators than that of February 11 (368,000 against 963,000). However, the vast majority of our readers say they want to continue to mobilize. “Of course we have to continue to fight to defend our achievements, says Estelle. I would rather lose a few days of salary than lose two years of my working life. “For Cédric, Wednesday is above all a good time. “The vote of the deputies will be tight, it is the extent of the mobilizations that makes some of them doubt, the mobilization of the 15th can force certain decisions to be taken. Indeed, the executive, which says it refuses to resort to 49.3, is trying to negotiate with right-wing deputies in order to obtain a majority in the Assembly.
Among the responses, most regret the government’s lack of attention, even “disdain”,: “The point of view of French workers is not taken into account”, accuses Olivier, who, even if he does not has not beaten the pavement for thirty years, will demonstrate “whatever it costs”. It is also for this reason that Clarisse, who has not yet gone on strike, will join the procession “tomorrow, in the face of the government’s lack of respect and denial of democracy. Their feeling of impunity and their lack of listening only reinforce my desire to tell them my anger. Mathieu, a Parisian teacher on strike since January, points out that “the assembly did not [encore] approved or properly debated the bill. Beyond the merits of this text, it is its democratic legitimacy that is debatable. Next step on Wednesday, when the joint joint committee, which brings together seven deputies and seven senators, will meet to try to find a common position on the text.
Mobilization ends up tiring
Faced with this, some of our readers are calling for the movement to be “hardened”. “If we have to go to the blackout, we will go, threatens Alain. We have signed a contract which stipulates that we must not put the country in the dark. But if the contract is denounced by the state…” Annick remarked that “street parades are obsolete and can only be set up by a few citizens”. Instead, she proposes a “consumer strike, so that not a penny of VAT goes into the coffers of the state”. Daniel also has an idea: “Block the ring road and therefore Paris for several days with a few hundred thousand demonstrators”
And then others got bored all the same. Catherine, for example, has studied for ten years and works in the private sector. She “went on strike the first time”, but she does not feel represented by the unions: “We never talk about us who take full pot, there are only for the defense of special regimes. So, she assures him, we won’t see her in a procession on Wednesday. Emma will not be there either: “It is useless to continue to mobilize us, at least in this way. The only thing that could change the game would be a real general strike, the actions taken are too weak to have any real impact. »
Finally, there are those, less numerous, that the repeated strikes annoy. Some say they are in favor of the reform, “necessary, otherwise we will leave a huge debt to future generations”, according to Emmanuel. Others seem disillusioned, like Nadia and Gérard, for whom “it’s no use continuing”, “the law will pass anyway”. Never mind, “even in the event of failure, the extent of the current mobilization will justify the cancellation of this reform”, believes Cédric. Like him, many readers still hope to see the government back down on its pension reform.