2023-05-01 18:04:11
Pot noises but burning smells. It’s between the mood « festive » displayed by the trade unions and the violence committed by radical groups that took place, Monday, May 1, the 13th day of the movement against the pension reform. The traditional Labor Day had a special impact this year, two weeks after the promulgation of the law raising the legal retirement age to 64.
Despite his thirty-four years of union commitment, the president of the CFE-CGC, François Hommeril, recognizes this: “It’s the first time in my life that I’ve demonstrated on May Day! » A sign for him of character “historical” of this demonstration, but also of the ” maturity “ of the inter-union, which knew how to bring people together. At his side, the general secretary of Force Ouvrière recounts the news that reaches him from provincial parades: “1,500 demonstrators in Cahors, 8,000 in Le Puy…” The two men, although very different, see it as a real success and the beginning of a new stage, and not a last stand.
Pascal, 58, participated in nine of the previous mobilization days. “It would still be a shame to miss the 1st of May “, smiles this CFDT union member of the Post Office. “We are here to show that we are still mobilized, but I no longer have too much hope, he continues. Emmanuel Macron, hears, but he does not listen. » A little further on, Majlinda, 20, is taking part in her first May Day. This history student, close to the Generation-s party, came especially from Beauvais. She was in all the other gatherings. “As long as we don’t let go, as long as we make noise, we can manage to make the government back downshe says. The struggle must continue. »
A massive black block and many yellow vests
For others, this ” struggle “ quickly took a radical turn in the streets of the capital. Among the thousands of people who had decided to position themselves in front of the union procession, a few hundred, dressed in black, formed a massive black bloc. Many “yellow vests” have appeared this time. Almost from the start of the parade, hooded and masked individuals smashed windows and street furniture. Several bank branches or insurance companies have been downgraded. In Nantes or Lyon, the demonstration was marked by numerous lootings and clashes, despite the unprecedented use of surveillance drones by the police.
In many medium-sized towns where the strong mobilization was the hallmark of this social movement, May Day certainly brought together a lot more people than in other years but, two months after the summit on Tuesday March 7 (from 1.3 to 3, 5 million demonstrators in France), the figures are all the same everywhere in reflux. Thus in Albi (5,000 demonstrators according to the unions), a symbolic city where all the union leaders had met in mid-February and then announced 22,000 demonstrators. At the national level, yesterday will probably not have caused the tidal wave hoped for by the unions.
A social movement challenged to reinvent itself
Between breathlessness and radicalization, the social movement is challenged to reinvent itself without dividing. “We will have to go back to negotiate with the government”, recognizes, without hesitation, François Hommeril. A form of realism shared by many of the demonstrators who crossed the Place de la République. “With the new labor law that is being prepared, we will not give up”warns David Rouzaud, territorial official in Île-de-France and CFTC activist.
The secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, also recognizes that the mobilization of the day must be used to weigh in the balance of power to come with the government. The unions agree on one point: they will not negotiate “anyhow or on any condition”. The inter-union will decide on Tuesday, May 2 on the terms but, already, ideas are emerging. The secretary general of the CGT, Sophie Binet, is pushing for “indexation of salaries to inflation”while Laurent Berger pleads for a conditionality of aid to companies, “for example in branches that have minima below the minimum wage”.
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The 13th day of mobilization in numbers
Several hundred thousand people marched on Monday May 1 throughout France. The police counted, for example, 16,300 demonstrators in Caen (40,000 according to the CGT), 8,700 demonstrators in Strasbourg (15,000), 7,300 in Lille (15,000), 11,000 in Marseilles (130,000), 13,500 in Toulouse (100,000), 15,000 in Brest (33,000) and 14,000 in Clermont-Ferrand (25,000).
In Paris, the CGT claimed 550,000 protesters and 2.3 million across France. The authorities, for their part, counted 112,000 demonstrators in the Parisian parade and 782,000 at the national level. The firm Occurrence, which carried out the counting for several media including The crossidentified 94,000 demonstrators in Paris.
Nearly 5,000 police officers were mobilized in Paris, for fear of violence. As of 2:10 p.m., 2,740 preflight checks have been completed. By 4:40 p.m., 46 people had been arrested.
Two dates now focus attention. On May 3, when the Constitutional Council will decide on a second request for a shared initiative referendum (RIP), and on June 8, when a bill from the deputies of the Liot group repealing the reform will be on the menu of the Assembly .
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