France faces Thursday a new day of national mobilization at the call of the inter-union against the pension reform, in a social climate which has deteriorated further since the adoption in Parliament of the bill via the controversial recourse in section 49.3. In recent evenings, many unauthorized gatherings as well as blockages have taken place all over France, sometimes calm, often tense.
■ The day after an Elysian intervention
The French are called Thursday to a ninth day of mobilization against a very unpopular pension reform and adopted Monday, March 20 using the constitutional tool 49.3 and after the rejection of two motions of censure, including a transpartisan one. Ulcerated by this passage in force of the government in the National Assembly, the opponents of the reform are called by the unions to take to the streets and to strike, for the ninth time since January 19.
Immediately after the adoption of the law, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on the one hand, the parliamentary opposition on their side, seized the Constitutional Council. The Elders will have to decide on the compliance of the text with the fundamental law of the Fifth Republic, and have the power to validate or censor it, in whole or in part. ” The Sages have one month to decide, i.e. until April 21 “, According to constitutionalist Anne-Charlène Bezzina, lecturer at the University of Rouen, interviewed by AFP. But the decision could come before.
And for this specialist, a partial censorship of the text is “ likely “. “ The government has chosen as a legislative vehicle to pass its reform a draft law on the amending financing of the social security budget (PLFRSS). And several voices, including that of the President of the Constitutional Council Laurent Fabius, have already warned of the risk of “budgetary rider” which threatens all provisions outside the financial field. »
Yesterday noon, a long-awaited television address by President Emmanuel Macron made the opposition and the unions jump, after several weeks of growing social tensions. The Head of State insisted that this reform – the flagship project of his second five-year term – should be applied “ before the end of the year “, assuming his” unpopularity “. ” This reform is not a pleasure, it is not a luxury, it is a necessity “, he assured, invoking the defense of “ general interest » in the face of the financial deterioration of pension funds and the aging of the population.
► Read also: Pensions: Emmanuel Macron ready to “endorse unpopularity”, renews his confidence in Elisabeth Borne
Emmanuel Macron has confirmed that he will neither dissolve the National Assembly, nor reshuffle the government, nor call a referendum on his decried reform. He was also not moved by the criticisms of his forced passage – the executive used a constitutional provision, article 49.3, allowing the adoption of a text without a vote – because he did not have a majority in the Assembly to vote for the text, exacerbating popular anger.
Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that he wanted re-engage » a dialogue with the social partners on the relationship to work. But “ you have to wait a few days, a few weeks “, he observed.
Many analysts believe that this reform and the protest it has brought about will leave an indelible mark on Emmanuel Macron’s second five-year term.
France is one of the European countries where the legal retirement age is the lowest, without the pension systems being completely comparable. The opponents of this reform – a majority of French people according to the polls – pensioners consider it ” unfair », especially for women and employees in arduous jobs.
► [Vidéo] The retirement minute: Can Macron last another four years?
■ Ninth day of strike
The inter-union procession must start from 2 p.m. in Paris. Since January 19, hundreds of thousands of French people have demonstrated eight times to express their rejection of this reform, the flagship measure of which, the lowering of the legal retirement age from 62 to 64, crystallizes the anger .
► Read also: Pensions in France: the key points of the reform
The peak of demonstrators was recorded on March 7 with 1.3 million people according to the authorities, this is more than on January 31. The unions had claimed 3.5 million people on the street, including 700,000 in Paris.
Since March 16, the date of recourse to article 49.3, the protest in France has shown signs of radicalization. Tense exchanges oppose demonstrators and police every evening, especially in Paris. Nearly a thousand people were arrested.
Several blocking actions against the reform, affecting oil depots, ports, roads, air transport, the gas sector and universities, took place across the country on Wednesday.
→ Fuels : At the national level, the situation is deteriorating slightly with regard to fuel, with approximately 14% of service stations in short supply of at least one type of fuel against 12% on Tuesday, and 7.13% dry, against 6 % Tuesday. Only one out of four TotalEnergies refineries is in operation in France. At the Normandy refinery, the largest in France and whose production has been completely stopped since Monday, several hundred people gathered Wednesday evening at the call of the CGT to oppose requisitions by striking employees. decided, according to the union, by the prefecture. The ports of Marseille-Fos (south) and Brest (west) were totally blocked on Wednesday. The government “ won’t hesitate to carry out requisitions if refineries are stopped by striking staff to protest against the pension reform, Transport Minister Clément Beaune warned on Monday. ” It is a decision of last resort, but as we have done previously, as we did in October, if it were necessary, we would not hesitate to do so to avoid an economic blockage and traffic in our country. »
Gathering underway in front of the TotalEnergies Refinery in Gonfreville-l’Orcher following the announcement of requisitions decided by the prefecture, indicates the company’s CGT. pic.twitter.com/T31pwNjWXD
– France Bleu Normandie (Seine-Maritime, Eure) (@fbleuhnormandie) March 22, 2023
→ Transport : this Thursday, the national railway company SNCF is only able to run half of its high-speed trains and a third of its regional express trains. Rail traffic was interrupted Wednesday in several stations in the south of France after the intrusion of demonstrators on the tracks, such as in Toulouse, Montpellier or Nîmes. The traffic of the Paris metro and suburban trains is planned “ very disturbed “. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) is asking airlines to cancel 30% of their flights at Paris-Orly and 20% at other airports by Thursday.
→ Waste : The strike of Parisian garbage collectors started on March 6 is renewed until Monday.
(With AFP)