France starts the week under strong tension. In the Assembly of Deputies, two motions of censure against the government will be voted on this Monday (20), although the chances of the executive’s fall are slim. French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday expressed his hope that the unpopular pension reform “can reach the goal of its democratic path”.
In a statement, the Élysée Palace, seat of the French presidency, indicated that the text of the disputed bill is the result of “months of political and social negotiations, and more than 170 hours of debate” in the Assembly of Deputies and in the country’s Senate. . In the note, Macron also states that the government is mobilized to “protect” parliamentarians threatened for defending the pension reform.
To try to calm the street revolt, Macron heavyweights also multiplied their appearances in the media this Sunday. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told the newspaper The Parisian who does not believe there will be enough votes to overthrow the government, but the vote on the motions “will be the moment of truth”. “Is the pension reform worth, yes or no, the fall of the government and the political disorder? The answer is clearly no”, he reiterated.
Same tone on the side of the French Minister of Labour, Olivier Dussopt, one of the biggest supporters of the bill that has inflamed public opinion for months. In an interview with Sunday newspaper, he stated that there will be “a before and an after” the imposition of the reform by decree, through the controversial article 49.3 of the country’s Constitution. However, “we have to keep moving forward”, he estimates.
Aurore Bergé, head of the deputies of the ruling Renaissance party in the French Assembly, recognizes that the forcible passage of the bill is frowned upon by the population and it will be necessary to “redo ties” with the French. “Whatever happens after Monday, we’ll move on to something else,” she predicts.
On the left, the opposition is trying to project itself for the next few days, with the aim of not letting the mobilization against the Social Security reform subside. “The struggle will continue whatever the result,” assured Jean-Luc Mélenchon, president of the radical left party France Insubmissa, in an interview with radio RTL.
According to the French press, the imposition of the reform without the vote of the deputies, last Thursday (16), was a decision by Macron. The head of state would have decided to put his government to the test when he realized that there would be two votes left for the text to be adopted in the Assembly. The leader has recently seen his popularity drop to 28%, the lowest level since 2019, due to insistence on modifying the country’s pension system.
The government says the reform, which envisages raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, is necessary to avoid deepening the deficit in coming decades as France grapples with an aging population. However, the opposition claims the change places an unfair burden on low-wage workers, women and people with jobs that result in physical strain.
weekend of mobilization
France was the scene of a weekend of revolt. Across the country, protesters took to the streets demanding the repeal of the reform. On Saturday (18), the government prohibited gatherings in Place de la Concorde, next to the Assembly of Deputies, in central Paris. Protesters have gathered at the site for two consecutive nights since the French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, announced the decision, last Thursday (16), to resort to article 49.3 of the Constitution for the forced adoption of the pension reform.
Disgusted, demonstrators began to head to the Place de l’Italia, a traditional site of protests in the 13th district of Paris. Early in the evening, some militants set up barricades, burned dumpsters and security forces were called in. After clashes, police used tear gas and water jets to disperse the crowd. Nearly 200 people were arrested.
Violence between protesters and the police was also reported in Nantes, in western France. Other cities – such as Bordeaux in the west, Lyon in the center-east and Marseille in the south – also staged demonstrations against pension reform.
Late this Sunday afternoon, hundreds of protesters gathered spontaneously in the Les Halles neighborhood in central Paris. By early evening, the streets around the site were taken over by security forces.
“The government didn’t want to talk to us, it’s responsible for this impasse. The sequence of protests is the only way to put pressure on. The streets are expressing themselves and if we burn things it’s to make us heard,” said protester Pierre Simon, 24. years.
Union centrals call for acts for the week
The biggest union centers try to mobilize the French for a new day of national strike this Thursday, March 23rd. Several categories, such as refinery employees and public cleaning agents, have been paralyzed for days. Despite the “requisitions”, a measure that obliges employees to leave the strike to carry out their duties, few garbage collectors have returned to work and about ten tons of garbage accumulate in the streets of the French capital.
Mobilization will also continue in the rail sector: four out of five high-speed trains (TGV) and two-thirds of regional trains will not circulate this Monday. Only 40% of the trains that make the connection between the peripheral cities and Paris will work.
The General Directorate of Civil Aviation has also asked airlines to reduce their flight schedules. The most affected airports will be Paris-Orly and Marseille, in the south of France.
“We went from a feeling of being slighted to a feeling of anger,” said the secretary general of the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT), Laurent Berger, in an interview with the newspaper Release this Sunday. “The growing revolt and hatred should serve to mobilize us calmly, preventing us from being politically exploited”, he pondered.