Blocked railways, disrupted traffic, strikes: for this ninth day of action against the pension reform, the unions are counting on a strong mobilization, the day after an intervention by the President of the Republic which bristled the opponents.
This day is the first organized at the national level after the adoption of the law via the constitutional weapon of 49.3, on March 16. The criticisms are particularly aimed at the President of the Republic after his television appearance.
For now, the unions are again calling for a mobilization “ massive », After the half-hearted day of March 15 (1.5 million demonstrators according to the organizers, 480,000 according to the authorities). The police are waiting this time” between 600 and 800,000 people on approximately 320 actions “, including 40 to 70,000 in Paris, where the procession will set off at 2 p.m. from the Place de la Bastille, in the direction of the Place de l’Opéra.
Communist leader Fabien Roussel called on Thursday, during the Parisian demonstration against the pension reform, to ” do everything to block the working tool ” And ” shut down the country “.
The strikes have caused many disruptions, particularly in transport. At the SNCF, only half of the TGV Inoui and Ouigo and a third of the TER were in circulation, while the RATP reported traffic “ very disturbed “in the Paris metro, with around thirty stations” closed to the public “. The tracks of the Gare de Lyon in Paris were also invaded by several hundred demonstrators, interrupting the movement of trains.
Lockdowns across the country
In Quimper, demonstrators blocked access to the station and occupied the tracks at dawn. Bus depots were also blocked by demonstrators in Rennes, Saint-Brieuc and Evreux. A few dozen people also burst into Roissy airport, blocking access to terminal 1 for an hour before being dislodged peacefully. The risk also comes from the supply of kerosene, which “ becomes critical for Ile-de-France and its major airports, due to strikes in refineries, said the Ministry of Energy Transition.
In National Education where renewed mobilization was expected, the ministry counted 23.22% of strikers in primary education and 19.61% in secondary education. First union in schools, the Snuipp-FSU provided between 40 and 50% of strikers among primary school teachers and its secondary counterpart, the Snes-FSU, 50% in colleges and high schools.
The agitation is also gaining part of the youth. Dozens of high schools and universities were thus blocked in France. Even the unrevolutionary Faculty of Law of Assas, in Paris.
Will Thursday’s mobilization be a last stand, or a grand finale before the protest dies down? According to a source close to the government, the executive hopes that the mobilization “ withers “after Thursday’s demonstration, and that everything is back to normal” this week-end “. But the inter-union does not disarm: it will meet Thursday evening at the headquarters of the CFDT in Paris.
Ninth day of mobilization : an important safety device
Thursday March 23, 2023, 12,000 police and gendarmes are mobilized throughout France, including 5,000 in Paris, to supervise this new day of inter-union action against the disputed pension reform. A number of police officers never reached within the framework of the demonstrations against this reform.
If the last eight days of mobilization at the call of the unions had taken place in calm, the use of article 49.3 to have this reform adopted and the rejection of the motions of censure raise fears of an outbreak of violence in the processions .
In recent days, especially at night, there have been overflows during unauthorized gatherings all over the territory and a very impressive number of police custody. Amnesty International is alarmed at the excessive use of force and abusive arrests. The NGO calls on the authorities to ensure the safety of the demonstrators.
Even before the start of the Paris event, the first operations took place during the day. For example, the occupation by railway workers of the railway tracks at the Gare de Lyon at the end of the morning, closed high schools and colleges or even access to Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport is blocked by demonstrators. , travelers had to reach it on foot.
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(With AFP)