The force against the Government of Emmanuel Macron, after having approved his pension reform project by decree, is put by the transport unions, the refineries, the garbage collectors and the opposition of the Executive. The Government, for its part, clarifies that it will not give its arm to twist. There is speculation about such an escalation that it will bring with it a movement of extreme protesters similar to that of the yellow vests.
It is the largest protest movement that has been seen in the French country since the yellow vest crisis in 2018. The demonstrations that are scheduled would affect public transport, the situation of garbage in public spaces and the supply of fuel for the French.
This weekend the unions announced protests in Nantes, Marseille, Brest and Caen, and the first mobilizations this Saturday, March 18, were reported in Vesoul (Haut-Saone), Guéret (Creuse) and Périgueux (Dordogne), on the third day of escalation of the protests since the pension reform was approved under article 49.3 that allowed the French Government to pass the project without the vote of the legislators of the National Assembly.
Protests have also taken place in cities such as Rennes, Toulouse or Bordeaux.
In an interview with BFM TV, Olivier Mateu, secretary of the Bouches-du-Rhône CGT departmental union, said that the French are facing “to a government that does not really care about its workers, its people, so from there it will unleash the creativity of the workers in places of work“.
“Maintain the strike and make it grow massively”
The four representative unions of the French National Highway Society (SNCF) called on their members to “maintain the strike that began on March 7” and called to “act massively on March 23”, which would mean the ninth day of great national mobilization.
Several teachers’ unions have also called for demonstrations for the week of March 20, during a crucial day for high school students, who must take some exams.
The unions CGT-Cheminots, Unsa-Ferroviaire, SUD-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots also invited railway employees to “multiply unitary actions and initiatives starting this weekend in all territories“.
The SNCF has said that during this Saturday and Sunday only three trains out of five on average will operate, and that some night trains will not provide the service.
The situation in heaven is somewhat different. Air traffic normalized on Friday and promises to be without interruptions this weekend; however, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) requested that the airlines cancel 30% of their flights to the Paris-Orly airport scheduled for Monday and 20% of the trips to Marseille-Provence.
“Despite these preventative measures, disruptions and delays are expected“warned the DGAC on Friday, March 17.
Two large refineries threaten closures
At least 37% of the operating labor force of refineries and depots Total Energies across the country are on strike this Saturday, March 18, a company spokesman confirmed to Reuters.
Eric Sellinni, coordinator of the CGT said on Friday that the main units will begin to shut down from this Saturday and that they hope to “stop their operations all weekend or Monday at the latest.”
Meanwhile, near Marseille, in Bouches-du-Rhône, the Petroineos refinery threatened to shut down completely “by Monday afternoon at the latest”, work had already resumed there on Thursday, March 16, after a partial blockade that was carried out against the pension reform.
With this, at least two refineries, that of PetroIneos in Lavéra (Bouches-du-Rhône) and TotalEnergies’ Normandy refinery in Gonfreville-l‘Orcher (Manche) have officially announced closures of operations.
However, these announcements of blockades do not represent an immediate execution of the same, the management of the companies can oppose it and take measures that could directly affect the employees, added to some strong decisions that the Executive has taken to avoid a repetition of the large refinery strike that affected France’s fuel reserves between September and December last year.
“We showed in the fall that we knew how to take on our responsibilities again, we will take them on“warned this Saturday the Minister of Industry, Roland Lescure in local media.
According to Lescure, the government could requisition the refineries that have announced strikes just as it did in 2022 and that even this measure was already being deployed for the garbage collectors of Paris, city where, according to the City Council’s estimate, more than 10,000 tons of garbage are accumulated in the streets.
“We are not going to leave 65 million French men and women and a country together blocked by a few dozen individuals. So, the strike (…) is obviously an inalienable right, but the blockade of a few individuals from a country (…) it’s not possible“added the minister.
The return of the yellow vests?
As the days of protest passed, some union leaders expressed their concern about losing control of the mobilizations, due to the arrival of the most radical protesters who have already begun to set the tone in many of them.
“Yes, we are concerned about this situation“Cyril Chabanier, head of the moderate CFTC union, told AFP, who also explained that since the pension reform was passed by decree, hundreds of French people have publicly burned posters of President Emmanuel Macron, destroyed street furniture, smashed windows and started fires.
With this panorama, the possibility of a repeat of the yellow vests movement returns to the scene, the great powerful and unconventional insurgency that began in 2018 as a protest against the increase in fuel prices, and which became the largest joint social action against President Macron in his first term.
With Reuters, AFP and local media.
