Do not panic. Despite the ongoing dispute, the Macron camp is backing down. “This mobilization was predictable. Many people who could not go to demonstrate during the week did so this Saturday, February 11 with their families, observes the president of the Walker senators, François Patriat. The movement does not weaken. The government listens to him, respects him, but will stand firm. »
A fact marked the spirits: the processions, almost everywhere in France, are always full… Without however reaching the levels of the first two days of the conflict (January 19 and 31).
“I thought that a weekend demonstration would make more people,” blows a weighty minister. “We are witnessing a slow slowdown”, estimates for his part the Renaissance deputy of Saône-et-Loire Rémy Rebeyrotte. The government is also pleased that the clashes (in Rennes or Lyon) have been limited. The next mobilization cycle will take place after the various holiday periods, on March 7.
“The more time passes, the more radical the movement becomes”
With the unions’ call to “put France to a halt” that day and a renewable strike at the RATP, there are three weeks of respite for the executive until then. The text on pensions will no longer be in the cauldron of the Assembly but will be passed to the Senate, where it will be halfway through its examination. A moderate chamber which will not be such a powerful sounding board for opponents of the reform, believe the Macronists.
“The month of March may give way to a harder movement in the street, but it is still difficult to anticipate”, notes an adviser to the executive. “The unions realize that it is difficult to mobilize every week”, continues François Patriat. The government is already preparing its arguments by calling on its detractors to “not block the French”, not to “penalize” the country.
“The movement never rose above 1.2 million demonstrators. As a result, the more time passes, the more radical it becomes, comments Rémy Rebeyrotte. But radicalization would be a bad response to this loss of momentum. »