La France à l’arret. Paralyze France. That is the goal with which the main unions French called this Tuesday general strikes and more than 300 demonstrations throughout the country to protest against the unpopular reform of government pensions Emmanuel Macron which increases the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. They wanted, as they have been proclaiming for weeks, “bring the French economy to its knees”. And, now, they claim to be about to get it.
In the absence of global figures, both the CFDT and the CGT -the main French union forces united expressly for the occasion- have described as “historic” the mobilization. It means that it exceeds that of last January 31, where 1.27 million people (according to police) and 2.8 million (according to the unions) took to the streets in the highest level concentration of the last 40 years.
The unions point out that 700,000 people marched in Paris, more than at any time since the start of the protests. The police, however, assure that there were 81,000. Despite the fact that the figures for the capital dance, both coincide in those of the provinces, where similar and even greater calls have been registered than the previous one.
[El Gobierno de Francia y los supermercados pactan una cesta de la compra “al precio más bajo posible”]
This is the sixth day of marches so far this year, with the novelty that strikes in sectors such as transport and energy are not scheduled for a single day, but are unlimited. In fact, the unions are expected to decide in the next few hours whether to continue or amplify the strikes, which have been noted throughout the territory and in virtually all key sectors.
On Tuesday, the fuel refineries have been totally blocked, although they have not caused shortages. The railway stations have remained practically empty, with 80% of regional trainsintercity and high-speed paralyzed.
? #7mars C’est à vous de participer, ajoutez votre action sur la carte collaborative intersyndicale! Donnons de la visibilité à toutes les actions syndicales organized dans le cadre de “la France à l’arrêt” #stop64ans ➡️ https://t.co/t0vsbCBmgQ #retracts #réformedesretraites pic.twitter.com/ExayTkR0fG
—CFDT (@CFDT) March 6, 2023
Between 20% and 30% of the flights of the country’s main airports, such as Orly or Charles de Gaulle, have been cancelled. Operations in ports, waste incinerators, power plants, etc. have also been interrupted. In the education sector, more than 30% of workers they have gone on strike, according to the Ministry of Education.
unlimited strikes
The biggest challenge now is maintaining those redirectable grèves (unlimited strikes) for days, taking into account that workers must give up days of salary at a time when inflation reached 14.5% in February. In fact, it is expected that on Wednesday the impact of the strike is great more moderate in the railway and in the urban transport of the big cities.
Sixth day of national protest in France against the pension reform.
In general, the protests proceeded normally, although in Paris, a group of protesters clashed with the police, who arrested 22 peopleaccording to local media.
Much of the French population is against the reform of the pension law. In fact, a recent survey by the Ifop demoscopic institute indicates that 68% of those questioned perceive it negatively and only 32% are in favor.
The new regulation was approved in January after a troubled process in the Assembly and is now in the Senate, which should approve it by the end of March at the latest. The government insists that your plan is essential to guarantee that the pension system does not break, but both the unions and the parties of the left and of the extreme right they want to paralyze it.
