People in the processions, many strikers in several sectors … Is Act 1 of the protest against the pension reform successful for the unions?
So, how many people in the street and how many strikers? This question, everyone is asking at the Elysée, at Matignon and in the premises of the main trade unions today. Because the extent of the mobilization this Thursday, January 19 is of singular importance at a time when the government has decided to launch its major pension reform in France.
The CGT counted 140,000 people in Marseilles (the police counted 26,000), 30,000 in Toulouse, 20,000 people in Nice, 18,000 in Caen, 10,000 in Le Havre. “The million demonstrators will be exceeded”, declared Philippe Martinez in front of the media, in Paris, on the sidelines of the procession place de la République. “The mobilization is beyond what we thought,” added Laurent Berger, the leader of the CFDT.
For the CGT, the expectations were high: Philippe Martinez has several times indicated this week on television or radio sets that he was counting on “millions” of people in the street to demand the withdrawal of the reform. In reality, it is all the unions that are counting on hundreds of thousands of demonstrators throughout France: below that, it will be very difficult to assert the popular rejection of the decisions set out by the government to reform the pension systems. . The figures will be given throughout the day, on this page.
How many strikers this Thursday, January 19?
According to the unions, 65% of teachers are on strike in colleges and high schools, but they are only 34% according to the Ministry of National Education. The government also gives 42% of strikers in the primary, while the unions said that 70% of teachers had reported their absence from classrooms.
To follow the events of the day, it’s very simple: go to our article dedicated to the strike of January 19 and to our article dedicated to the demonstrations in France. You will find the latest information on blockages, stalls, particularly in transport and at school, and on the processions organized in nearly 200 cities:
The unions, followed by the main left-wing political formations, have already made it known that this day of mobilization on January 19 was only a first step and that it would be followed by other strike days. A march on January 21 is already scheduled in Paris by the main politically committed youth organizations on the left.