The mobilization against the pension reform seems more important than on January 19. This Tuesday, the first figures evoke more crowded processions than a fortnight ago, as the demonstration in Paris takes off.
[Mis à jour le 31 janvier 2023 à 14h36] There are people in the street this Tuesday, January 31! For this new day of mobilization against the pension reform, the processions which marched throughout the morning throughout France were copiously garnished. The first estimates suggest an increase in participation in this strike, compared to the call of January 19. Thus, in Marseille, the CGT claims 205,000 people against 145,000 a fortnight ago; FO counted 25,000 participants in Nice (compared to 20,000); 80,000 would have mobilized in Toulouse according to the unions. In the Pink City, the prefecture has counted half as many, while in the two other municipalities mentioned above, the public authorities have not yet communicated their figures. In the Nord and Pas-de-Calais, 40,000 demonstrators were counted by The voice of the North, 10,000 more than two weeks earlier. “It’s better than January 19, there are even more people. People say no to retirement at 64,” rejoiced Laurent Berger, general secretary of the CFDT, as did Philippe Martinez, of the CGT, which calls for “toughening up the tone”, during a speech at the start of the procession organized in Paris, and to follow live on Internet user.
The demonstrations of January 31, city by city
As usual, the rallies on January 31 will take place throughout France, with the capital as the main rallying point. The UNSA maintains a menu interactive view of the various mobilization sites, which she agreed to share with Linternaute.
- Paris: Demonstration at 2 p.m. on the Place d’Italie
- Lille: Demonstration at 2.30 p.m. on Place Simon Vollant, Porte de Paris
- Lyon: Demonstration at 2 p.m. at the Tobacco factory
- Strasbourg: Demonstration at 2 p.m., departure from avenue de la Liberté
- Vichy: Demonstration at 2.30 p.m., on the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville
- Issoire: Demonstration at 5 p.m. on the forecourt of the Halle aux grains
- Ambert: Demonstration at 5 p.m., Hospital
- Valence: Demonstration at 2.30 p.m., on the Champ de Mars esplanade
- Annecy: Demonstration at 2 p.m., at the prefecture
- Chambéry: Demonstration at 2 p.m. on the Place du Palais de Justice
- Briançon: Demonstration at 2 p.m., at the sub-prefecture
- Brignoles: Demonstration at 3:30 p.m. at Raynouard high school
- Nîmes: Demonstration at 2.30 p.m. in the Jardins de la Fontaine
- Lodève: Demonstration at 5 p.m. at the sub-prefecture
- Narbonne: Demonstration at 2.30 p.m. at the media library
- Carcassonne: Demonstration at 2.30 p.m. in the square André Chénier
- Foix: Demonstration at 2 p.m. at the top of Vilotte
- Dax: Demonstration at 5.30 p.m. on the Fontaine Chaude square
- Bergerac: Demonstration at 2.30 p.m. on the Place du Palais
- Marmande: Demonstration at 2 p.m. on the Maré esplanade
- Limoges: Demonstration at 2 p.m. at the Tourny crossroads
- La Rochelle: Demonstration at 2.30 p.m. on the forecourt of the station
- Chartres: Demonstration at 2.30 p.m., Theater
- Amiens: Demonstration at 2 p.m. at the Maison de la Culture
- Dunkirk: Demonstration at 2.30 p.m. at Place de la Gare
- Épinal: Demonstration at 2 p.m. on Place Foch
- Mulhouse: Demonstration at 1.30 p.m. in the Square de la Bourse
- Dijon: Demonstration at 2 p.m. on the Place de la Liberation
- Besançon: Demonstration at 2 p.m. at the Battante car park
What is the route of the procession of January 31 in Paris?
It is in Paris that the unions and the Ministry of the Interior await the most important demonstration. The route of the Parisian demonstration has been specified. The procession will leave at 2 p.m. from Place d’Italie. The demonstrators will then rush on the avenue des Gobelins, the boulevard de Port-Royal and the boulevard de Montparnasse towards the boulevard des Invalides to reach the place Vauban, located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. The demonstration could last five hours since the police headquarters estimates the end of the rally at 7 p.m.
In a communicated the Paris police headquarters warned that these demonstrations would impact traffic within the perimeter of the procession but which will be “gradually restored according to the appearance of the place”. However, “protected corridors” will allow ambulances to avoid blockages. Motorists are therefore invited to “very largely circumvent the sector”.
In Lyon, the route of the demonstration on January 31 will be approximately the same as that of January 19. He will thus leave the Manufacture des Tabacs, located in the 8th arrondissement of the capital of Les Gaulles, to go to Place Bellecour, in the 2nd arrondissement. However, the procession will start at a different time. Top departure scheduled for 2 p.m.
In detail, the procession must start from the Cours Albert-Thomas then take the Cours Gambetta to the Guillotière and the Place Gabriel-Péri. The Rhône will be crossed by the Guillotière bridge. The demonstrators will circumvent the Hôtel-Dieu by the place Antonin-Poncet to the place Bellecour.
Compared to the first day of mobilization against the pension reform, the route of the procession will be a little shorter in Bordeaux this Tuesday, January 31, 2023. The meeting is set for noon on the Place des Quinconces. The demonstrators will then descend towards the Garonne to follow the quays to the course of Alsace-et-Lorraine and rue des Frères Bonie. The procession will go up the course of Albret, as well as the rue Nancel Penard to the place Gambetta. Then, it will take Cours Clémenceau towards Place Tourny. To close the event, the procession will go to the Place de la Comédie to join the Quinconces again via the course of July 30.
On the Marseille side, the demonstration organized in the morning brought together, according to the CGT, 205,000 people. A number much higher than that announced on January 19, when the union said that 140,000 people had marched. However, the prefecture is far from being of the same opinion. The public authority, for its part, gave the figure of 40,000 demonstrators. The procession, which left the Old Port, at the bottom of the Canebière, reached the Porte d’Aix at the very beginning of the afternoon.
It was between the Saint-Cyprien and Jean-Jaurès metro stations that the demonstrators marched this Tuesday in Toulouse, during the morning. Through the streets of the Pink City (allées Charles-de-Fitte, boulevard Lascrosses and boulevard d’Arcole), 80,000 people pounded the pavement according to the unions, an increase of 30,000 people compared to the 19 January. For its part, the prefecture counted 34,000 participants, against 36,000 two weeks ago.
How many protesters are expected?
In a confidential note consulted by the Parisian, the territorial intelligence gave their estimates on the number of demonstrators in the processions which promise to be well filled. “1 million to 1.2 million people, including 70,000 to 100,000 in Paris” will take to the streets among the 240 rallying points, estimated the services of the Ministry of the Interior. The gatherings outside the capital also promise to be very popular, the document announces around 28,500 demonstrators expected in Toulouse, 26,500 in Nantes or 22,000 Marseilles.
Radical elements in the ranks?
The document from the authorities consulted by the Parisian also mentions the fears of the authorities as to January 31. The presence of the ultra-left would be greater than that of January 19. The note mentions potential extremists who “hope to capitalize on and increase [leur] presence in the processions”. It is also mentioned the risks “of degradation against the symbols of capitalism and acts of violence against the police”, some cities would be more under tension than others like “Pau, Brest , Bordeaux, Lille or Montpellier” reported the media. The police will also be strongly mobilized in Paris, because there would be in the ranks between “200 to 400 radical elements”.
To avoid any overflow, Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior announced that 11,000 police and gendarmes would be deployed throughout France to supervise the demonstrations, i.e. a thousand additional police and gendarmes than during the last mobilization on January 19. . “It is the honor of the national police and the gendarmerie to allow this right to demonstrate” estimated the minister on the move to Marseille.