The unions hoped to be able to announce a mobilization against the pension reform greater than that of January 19. The goal is reached. At midday, already, the police counted 735,000 demonstrators, against 650,000 on January 19, an increase of 20%. Confirmation this evening, since the CGT claims 2.8 million demonstrators throughout France, against 1.27 million according to the Ministry of the Interior.
The gauge rises almost everywhere, in large cities as in small ones. The increase is particularly striking at Marseille, where the prefecture counted 40,000 demonstrators, against 26,000 on January 19. Such a level of mobilization had not been observed in the Marseille city for almost twenty years. Participation has also increased Nantes, where police counted 28,000 people in the procession, down from 25,000 the previous time. A crowd opposed to the postponement of the legal retirement age, from 62 to 64, who pounded the pavement chanting: “Macron, your law, it will not pass! “. A Paristhe police headquarters announced 87,000 demonstrators, while the CGT claimed more than 500,000 demonstrators.
They were also nearly 25,000 at Montpellier, 10,000 more than during the first demonstration. A perceptible revival also in smaller towns, such as Sete (4500), Calais (5000) or Guéret (4300). Authorities have listed at least 23,000 to Rennes10,000 to Chateauroux or 7500 to Beziers.
“At night it’s true that it’s more and more difficult”
The attendance was stable elsewhere compared to January 19, like Toulouse where the prefecture announced 34,000 demonstrators, against 36,000 on January 19. Anonymous people like Christian B., 54, flight simulator repairer at the aircraft manufacturer Airbus and worried about having to work longer: “When I work the nights, it’s true that it’s more and more difficult, I don’t I don’t see myself working until I’m 65 and I don’t see my employer keeping me until I’m 65”. Stability also at Bordeaux (16 500), Rouen (14 000), Strasbourg (10 500) or Nice (7000), within a few hundred each time.
In other cities, on the other hand, the authorities’ figures are in decline, as in Orléans (8,500 against 12,000 on January 19), where Michèle Durand, 58, made her calculations: “With the new reform, I have to work six months longer. Already we are paid 20% less than men, it’s double the penalty. It is always the poor and the women who have to work longer. » Decrease also noted, although lighter, at Clermont-Ferrand (17 000), Valenciennes (4500), Tulle (3600) or Belfort (3400).
But the figures from the unions are almost systematically on the rise, with differences most often ranging from simple to double to Toulon (from 9,000 to 18,000), but can exceed three times as in Havre (from 12,000 to 40,000), with as usual a ratio of one to five in Marseille, where the CGT claimed more than 200,000 demonstrators.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/PYGI2Y76OBC43LMXA4A6BOOQAQ.jpg)
