Today, France experienced its seventh day of protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for pension reform amid ongoing strikes that have affected oil refineries, public transport and garbage collection.
A coalition of French trade unions, in a rare show of unity since the protest movement began in late January, hopes to continue to pressure the government to reverse a reform whose key measure is to extend the retirement age by two years to 64.
Up to 1 million people are expected to take part in more than 200 marches across the country, according to the Interior Ministry, as the Senate continues to consider the reform, with a possible vote on the text in the Upper House expected by Sunday evening. .
The demonstrations began at 10 am. on the streets of big cities such as Toulouse and Nice. The march in Paris is due to start at 2:00 pm.
The government said 1.28 million people took to the streets on Tuesday, the largest turnout since the protest movement began. The unions put the total at 3.5 million.
Polls show a majority of voters oppose Macron’s plan, while a slim majority support the strike.
A spokesman for TotalEnergies told Reuters that strikes were continuing at French refineries and the oil company’s warehouses, while state-owned rail operator SNCF said national and regional services would be interrupted over the weekend.
In Paris, rubbish continues to pile up on the streets as residents report a growing presence of rats, according to local media.
The Senate, backing Macron’s centrist Renaissance Party, would have to vote on the pension reform, but in that case the bill would be considered by a joint committee of lower and upper house parliamentarians likely next week.
If the committee agrees, the final vote is likely to be for both houses, but in the lower house of parliament, where Macron’s party matters, the outcome of such a vote is still uncertain.
“A lot can happen next week,” Marilise Léon, deputy general secretary of the country’s largest trade union, CFDT, told Franceinfo radio. “Will there be a vote on the text in the National Assembly? We need to rally. Now or never.”
Another day of nationwide strikes and protests is scheduled for March 15.
Source: Reuters.
Source: Kathimerini
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