France on strike: unions say no to raising retirement age

More than 250 protests are expected against the bill to raise the retirement age in the country.

Paris, France. More than a million protesters marched through towns and cities across France on Tuesday as part of a new round of protests and strikes against the government’s plan to raise the retirement age to 64. Unions have called for more protests this weekend, warning that the situation could become “explosive”.

The government “should withdraw its plan now,” the unions asked after an evening meeting to determine their course of action.

They hoped Tuesday’s show of force would undermine President Emmanuel Macron’s bill. The bill was debated in the Senate this week.

Scavengers, communal workers, machinists and others quit their jobs across the country to show their dissatisfaction with the reform.

“The president’s silence is a serious democratic problem that inevitably leads to a situation that could become explosive,” the unions said in a joint statement.

They called for an urgent meeting with authorities, urging citizens to “continue and intensify” the protests and join new marches on Saturday.

Protesters took to the streets of Paris, Marseille, Nice and other cities. Small clashes with police occurred in Nantes, Rennes and Lyon. In Paris, police used tear gas to stop black-clad demonstrators from violently attacking banks and shops and dispersing them long after the protest march had ended.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said 43 people were arrested during the march, which was attended by 81,000 people. The Interior Ministry said nearly 1.3 million people demonstrated across France. The CGT trade union estimated the number of protesters in Paris at 700,000 and 3.5 million across the country.

In the French capital, workers, families and activists gathered in a joyful atmosphere, chanting slogans.

Opinion polls show that a majority of French voters oppose the bill.

“To see so many people today gives me hope,” said 38-year-old Sara Durie. The activist said the protests have moved beyond their original schedule, drawing in climate change activists, feminists and students. “The movement has spread because defending workers’ rights means defending a social model based on solidarity,” she said.

The unions have threatened to freeze the French economy by shutting down work in several sectors, most notably an indefinite strike at the SNCF, the national railway authority.

Some unions have called for indefinite strikes in sectors ranging from refineries and warehouses to power plants and gas works.

According to CGT, all oil supplies to the country were stopped on Tuesday due to strikes at oil refineries of TotalEnergies, Esso-ExxonMobil and Petroineos groups.

Truck drivers blocked major highways from time to time as traffic slowed down near several towns.

In Paris, garbage collectors went on an indefinite strike and on Tuesday morning blocked access to the Ivry-sur-Seine waste incineration plant south of the capital, Europe’s largest.

“The job of a scavenger is hard. We usually work very early or late… 365 days a year. We usually have to carry heavy loads or stand for hours to sweep,” said Regis Viechili, a 56-year-old garbage collector.

Some strikers said the pace of work was affecting their health, causing tendinitis and pain. Hard work earns them a special retirement plan with retirement at the age of 57. The changes envisaged by the government will force them to work until the age of 59.

“Many sanitation workers die before retirement age,” Vicili said.

Data from the state statistical agency Insee showed that in 2009-2013, the most recent period studied, the life expectancy of unskilled male workers was 6.4 years lower than that of men in managerial positions, compared to a difference of 3.2 years among women.

A fifth of flights were canceled at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and about a third at Orly Airport. According to the SNCF railway authority, trains to Germany and Spain have been largely shut down, while trains to and from the UK and Belgium have been cut by a third.

Most high-speed trains and regional trains have been cancelled.

Public transport and other services have been disrupted in most French cities. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower is closed, as is the Palace of Versailles to the west of the capital.

About a third of teachers were on strike across the country, according to the education ministry.

At the Paris Nord railway station, some trade unionists voted to continue the strike on Wednesday.

“We are convinced that the government will only back down if we bring the economy to a halt,” said Xavier Bregail, a 40-year-old train driver in northern Paris. I want to make a decent living at my job.”

Transport company RATP said the disruptions to the Paris metro will continue on Wednesday.

The reform will raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 and require 43 years of work by 2030 to receive a full pension, among other measures. The government says the system should plunge into deficit within a decade as France’s population ages and life expectancy rises.

At the Saint-Lazare train station in Paris, Briqui Maucranet, a 54-year-old firefighter, said: “Of course, it is very, very difficult for the workers, but unfortunately in France it is always the same: we have to go on strike or demonstrate to protect our rights.” .

Legislators on the left say businesses and the wealthy should do more to fund the pension system.

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