All over France, rallies and demonstrations were organized for this new day of mobilization, the sixth since the outbreak of 49.3 by Elisabeth Borne. And on Thursday March 23, a major mobilization is expected against the disputed pension reform.
The ax came very close for Elisabeth Borne : nine votes failed in the trans-partisan motion of censure presented Monday to the National Assembly to overthrow the Prime Minister and her government. And all over France, rallies and demonstrations were organized this Tuesday, March 21 against the highly contested pension reform.
In the streets, the anti-reform demonstrators are determined to continue the mobilization, as explained by Éléonore Schmidt, spokesperson for the Student Alternatives union present on the Place de la République in Paris. : ” We see a movement that is gaining momentum among students. The anger only grows. In the universities, we are at sixty blocked, unmarked or occupied establishments, so the number is significant. We also see that there are new people joining us and this is linked to Emmanuel Macron’s democratic denial. We will mobilize until the withdrawal of the reform. We are also participating in the blocking of the economy to put the president up against the wall. »
In Nantes or Rennes, several thousand people took part in torchlight demonstrations on Tuesday evening to protest against the government’s pension reform. AT Nantes, they were 10,000 demonstrators according to the unions, 4,100 according to the police. The first tear gas was fired shortly after the start of the demonstration by the police, who came under heavy mortar fire, AFP journalists noted.
In Rennes, 4,000 people, some of whom were carrying torches according to the organizers, 1,200 according to the prefecture, strolled peacefully through the city center. Back at their starting point around 8:30 p.m., the demonstrators released paper lanterns into the sky, chanting slogans hostile to Emmanuel Macron and the police, before dispersing.
In Fos-sur-Mer, near Marseille, the blockage continues in front of the oil depot. A few hundred of them gathered in front of the idle refinery.
Story of the blockade day in Fos-sur-Mer
Arrests “ arbitrary» finger pointing
Strong tensions between law enforcement and anti-reform protesters have emerged across the country. Clashes giving rise to images of very muscular police interventions and at least 200 arrests in Paris, including that of a member of the La France Insoumise party, which sparked a lively political controversy.
There is a strategy, that of Darmanin, Macron and Borne, which is to intimidate the youth, to intimidate those who are legitimately angry, it’s called state violence to ensure that everyone returns at home
Clémentine Autain, Member of Parliament for Insubordinate France
” A policy of traps and truncheons “also denounced in the National Assembly during questions to the government, arousing the anger of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who denounces the instrumentalization and responsibility of France Insoumise : “ Last night, your verbal violence spilled over into the street, you attacked the police and the gendarmes, you questioned their work. For my part, I want to pay tribute to them, they protect us, they protect our institutions and the republican order. »
According to the latest consolidated report from the Paris prosecutor’s office, 425 people were taken into police custody during the first three evenings of spontaneous demonstrations, from Thursday to Saturday. Only 52 of them were prosecuted at the end of the procedure. Figures for Sunday and Monday evenings are not yet available, the prosecution said. A total of 287 people, including 234 in Paris, were arrested Monday evening in France during a fifth consecutive evening of spontaneous demonstrations against the government’s decision to pass its pension reform in the Assembly without a vote, according to a source. policewoman.
French authorities denied on Tuesday that there were unjustified arrests during recent protests against pension reform in Paris, as denounced by the opposition : ” There ain’t no wrongful stops, I can’t let that be said »declared the prefect of police of Paris, Laurent Nuñez on BFMTV, while unions of lawyers, magistrates and left-wing politicians denounced police custody “ arbitrary ».
Claire Hédon, the Defender of Rights, and who is responsible for defending the rights of citizens in France, said on her side ” preoccupied » And “ Iworry » on the consequences of preventive arrests synonymous with deprivation of liberty and recalled the rules of ethics in the maintenance of order.
Between 600,000 and 800,000 demonstrators expected Thursday
Gérald Darmanin announced on Tuesday that “ 12,000 police and gendarmes » would be mobilized Thursday in France including “ 5,000 in Paris » for the new day of inter-union action against the disputed pension reform. Between 600,000 and 800,000 demonstrators, including 40,000 to 70,000 in Paris, are expected in the streets on Thursday, according to intelligence services estimates, police sources told AFP.
In the regions, more than ten towns will see ” demonstrations of the ultra-left »according to territorial intelligence, in particular in Rennes where the presence of some 500 members of the protest movement is anticipated, indicated one of the police sources.
About the criticisms against police custody of demonstrators who would be “ arbitrary “, according to lawyers, magistrates and politicians, Gérald Darmanin argued that these police custody are always decided” under the authority of the prosecution “. ” Yes to the freedom to demonstrate, no to disorder, to chaos “Warned Gérald Darmanin, denouncing the wild gatherings of the last few days.
What options do trade unions have to continue the movement?
Situation far from simple for the unions, they must always appear credible and keep the head of the challenge while remaining united. But how to renew itself and make it last when certain components of the CGT harden the movement, multiply the actions and when the youth also seizes the street, far from any union consideration?
“The trade unions have weapons, tools in their hands, explains Bernard Vivier, the director of the Higher Institute of Labor. They first have recourse to the Constitutional Council. This is a real unknown for the government text, the law can only be implemented when the Constitutional Council has approved it in whole or in part. Trade unions still have pressure from the streets, from demonstrations. And Thursday’s protest is going to be important for that. They also – but it is to be used with caution, because a cleavage can appear between organizations – strikes, deadlocks, “France at a standstill” to use an expression of recent times. »
The other track is the shared initiative referendum (RIP) filed this Monday before the Constitutional Council. But it is a long and uncertain process. The time is still today for the anger expressed in the street and the inter-union seems to want to support it, while avoiding falling into radicalism.
►To listen also: Pension reform: “There is a concern to play down” by Emmanuel Macron
(and with AFP)