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“We are worried,” say motorists filling up at gas stations near Paris a day before demonstrations against the government’s pension reform. The unions affirm that they want to “paralyze France” with the strikes attended by thousands of citizens.
The majority of the French support the strikes scheduled for this Tuesday, March 7, against the pension reform of President Emmanuel Macron, according to a recent poll that indicates the unpopularity of the changes that the government considers essential.
The unions have vowed to bring the country “to a standstill” and strikes will affect sectors such as transport, energy and oil refining. 56% of those surveyed were in favor of the call and 59% in favor of the paralysis of the country, according to a survey for the news channel ‘BFM TV’.
According to the survey, two out of three people support the protest movement in general, which seeks to force the government to abandon its plans to raise the retirement age to 64 from the current 62.
“We do not want the French to be, in quotes, ‘victims’ of a long-term blockade,” said Olivier Véran, a government spokesman, after warning last week that the strikes could cause an “ecological, agricultural and health catastrophe.”
“The history of protest movements in France shows that it is not necessary to blockade the whole country and cause such significant inconvenience to people in their daily lives,” he added.
One in five regional trains would be running on Tuesday with more than 260 demonstrations throughout the country and an expected turnout of between 1.1 and 1.4 million people, a police source told AFP.
Macron, 45, says the reform is “essential” because of the deficits expected for the system over the next 25 years.
France lags behind its neighbors and other major European economies, where the retirement age hovers around 65 and above.
For the sixth time since the beginning of the year, the unions warn of a day of strikes and demonstrations throughout the country with the aim of repeating the large turnout registered in the first major protest, on January 19, when more than a million people protested against pension reform.
With AFP and Reuters
