Major cities in France were today the scene of fresh mobilizations against the government’s pension reforms and its intention to raise the statutory retirement age from 62 to 64.
Major cities in France were today the scene of fresh mobilizations against the government’s pension reforms and its intention to raise the statutory retirement age from 62 to 64.
At the call of the country’s main unions, which have formed the Intersindical, workers from different sectors, youth and pensioners have marched for the seventh time since January 19 with huge balloons, banners and slogans, without a sign of surrender from the executive branch his position.
In that capital, the general secretaries of the General Confederation of Trade Unions (CGT) and the French Democratic Trade Union Confederation (CFDT), Philippe Martinez and Laurent Berger, respectively, led the protests, two unions with positions that do not usually coincide but that remain united against reform.
The demonstrations echoed criticism of President Emmanuel Macron for “ignoring” demands from unions and the majority of French people and rejecting an increase in the retirement age.
According to the CGT, more than a million people took to the streets this Saturday, 300,000 in Paris, a far cry from the 3,500,000 the organization had estimated on March 7.
For its part, the Interior Ministry estimated 368,000 participants, 48,000 in this capital.
The Intersindical has already called for a new protest for March 15 ahead of the Executive Branch’s decision to uphold its project, which will be considered in the Senate this weekend.
(taken from PL)