Jan. 19 () –
France lives this Thursday the first union mobilization in the Emmanuel Macron era, against a pension reform that plans to raise the legal retirement age to 64 and extends the contribution period to receive the maximum pension, up to 43 years.
The day has started with incidents in public transport, although the French media have reported little influx by travelers who already anticipated what could happen. In public schools, unions expect follow-up to reach 70 percent.
The state electricity network has confirmed a reduction in electricity production as a result of the strikes, while in the TotalEnergies refineries, the level of support ranges between 70 and 100 percent, according to the General Confederation of Labor (CGT).
The associations have called more than 200 demonstrations throughout the country. In Paris, the march will start at 2:00 p.m. from the Plaza de la Republica, with representatives of some unions that for the first time in years have decided to make a common front against a reform that has generated discomfort mainly in the public sector.
The Labor Minister, Olivier Dussopt, has defended the right of workers to this type of stoppage in an interview with LCI, but has also called for not undertaking “blockades”. The Government defends its reform, which according to the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, implies “social progress”.
For Macron, this mobilization coincided with the Spanish-French summit organized in Barcelona, where a dozen ministers from his cabinet have also traveled to sign agreements with the government of Pedro Sánchez.
If there are no changes, the text will reach the table of the Council of Ministers next Monday, January 23. The reform proposes a gradual scenario, in such a way that the legal retirement age has gone from the current 62 years to 64 in 2030, while the review of the contribution period will be applied from 2027.
