Fourth day of national protest against the pension reform, 36th day followed by a strike in the transport sector, a partnership between fed up and resigned, and a pulse between the Government and the trade unions whose end is not in sight. The more than 200 demonstrations throughout France to measure this Thursday the strength of a movement that, despite the erosion of time and its character numerically a minority, has a wide sympathy with popular. And maintains the ability to disrupt the daily life of the French people who live in metropolitan areas such as Paris and depend on the subway or the commuter train to travel to work.
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The strike in the transport sector, which has affected mainly the capital and its region, has maintained from the initial day of the protest, the 5th of December. The follow-up has declined since then. Since the end of December, has stabilized at around 6% of the employees of the SNCF, the public company of railways, with climbs in the days of national protest like this 9 of January. The transport company of the paris region, RATP, does not communicate its figures, although, if you look at the metro of paris, in the last few days have opened up more lines in rush hour. The rate of strikers, in any case, it is enough to cripple the system, since it is much higher —close to 40% in the SNCF— between the drivers, which are decisive for the operation of the trains.
In parallel to the strike permanent and indefinite in public transportation, have been organized days of demonstrations and strikes in other sectors such as education, advocacy, or refineries. The first was the same, December 5: 810.00 took to the streets across France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. In the second, 10 December, were 339.000. In the third, December 17, 615.000 (that day they were to 1,800,000 according to the union convenor CGT). Meanwhile, last christmas, the Government appears to have drawn the negotiation with the union of moderate CFDT, and the unknown plans on if on the fourth day of national mobilisations will be felt a certain fatigue opposition, or if, to the contrary, the trade union conveners will once again demonstrate their strength in the street. 47% of French have a positive opinion of the movement antirreforma and 35% negative, according to a poll Ifop. The support is considerable, but lower than that of other mobilizations similar to the past, such as the 1995 or the 2010.
In Paris —thermometer of a mobilization that is most noticeable in the capital than in the France of the provinces—, the march was supposed to start at 13.30 in the plaza de la République and head to the place Saint-Augustin. They organised several trade unions, with the CGT, Force Ouvrière and Solidaires to the front, and counted with the participation of political formations such as The France Insumisa and the Socialist Party. The requirement, from the first day, is the complete withdrawal of the reform, capital project of the presidency of Emmanuel Macron. Considered that will require the French to work more years to collect a pension lower. The CFDT, the first union of France, only joined the third demonstration, the 17 of December. In the fourth will not participate. The CFDT supports the basic idea of the reform —to merge in a single one of the 42 pension schemes current— but disagree with another key point: the 64-year as age to collect the pension in full (the legal age of retirement is now 62 years of age).
The Government has made several concessions that will allow some professional sectors with long periods of transition to the new system, but to the point where all stranded are 64 years old. On Friday, at the initiative of the CFDT, the Government has convened a meeting in view to the holding of a conference on the funding of pensions. This would allow to break off boasting, as you want the CFDT, the two legs of the reform. On the one hand, the systemic change of 42 regimes to one, with the introduction of a system of new calculation. On the other, the pursuit of financial equilibrium requires to extend the retirement age, increase contributions or reduce the pension. An agreement of the prime minister, Édouard Philippe, the leader of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, would not respond to the demands of the CGT and the unions who want the withdrawal of the project, but could allow unblock the pulse. The Council of Ministers intends to discuss the law on the 24 of January and submitted to the National Assembly from February 17 to be definitively approved before the summer.
