The number of strikers and demonstrators was expected to drop this Tuesday, February 7 for the third day of mobilization against the pension reform, the unions already planning for the fourth, Saturday, to maintain pressure on the majority, at the front in the hemicycle. The figures of the processions which took place in the morning showed a lower participation than on January 31: for example 5000 in Angoulême according to the authorities, against 8500 on January 31 and 9000 on January 19. Or even in Rouen, where the demonstrators were 8,700 according to the prefecture, against 13,800 on January 31 and 13,000 on the 19th.
The Parisian demonstration, strong of tens of thousands of demonstrators, started around 2 p.m. from the Place de l’Opéra, direction Bastille. “Tonight’s message will be a call to demonstrate massively on Saturday,” said CFDT general secretary Laurent Berger, recognizing for Tuesday “a small handicap with the holidays”, which started for the area. A. “But the parliamentary debate is until the end of March, and in March there will be no more holidays”, he warned, believing once again that it would be “democratic madness to remain deaf” to protest against the reform.
Before the start, the leader of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, called for “harder, more massive, more numerous” strikes, “if the government persists in not listening”. “It will take other demonstrations but for us, it’s clear, the rest will be the renewable strike, around March 8”, echoed Simon Duteil (Solidaires).
Fewer strikers
With more than 200 rallies in the country at the call of the eight main unions (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC, Unsa, Solidaires, FSU), a security source predicted last week a range of 900,000 to 1 .1 million demonstrators, including a maximum of 70,000 in Paris. Eleven thousand police and gendarmes are mobilized, including 4,000 in the capital. The 31 had gathered 1.27 million people according to the authorities and 2.5 million according to the unions.
In the key transport sector, the circulation of trains and metros is “severely disrupted” at SNCF and RATP. But the strike rate fell to 25%, against 36% on the 31st and 46% on the 19th. In energy, the CGT claims a drop of around 4,500 MW in energy production, the equivalent of more than four nuclear reactors. More than one in two employees (56%) of TotalEnergies refineries are on strike according to management, between 75 and 100%, according to the CGT. The management of EDF lists 30.3% of strikers at midday, against 40.3% on January 31. At the Total refinery in La Mède (west of Marseille), the strike was launched for 48 hours. “No product leaves the site”, summarized Fabien Cros (CGT).
The Ministry of Education lists 14.17% of teachers on strike (against 25.92% on January 31), with however 8 academies on vacation. According to a police source, nine university sites and 24 high schools were disrupted in France, with 14 blockages. La Voix lycéenne claims nearly 150 blocked high schools. Just over 11% of civil servants were on strike in the middle of the day in the state civil service, against 19.4% on the 31st and 28% during the first.
“Strike of Strength”
“You cannot govern for very long against your own country”, warned Olivier Faure (PS) on Tuesday, Sandrine Rousseau (EELV) affirming that the elected representatives of the left are “the continuation of this social movement within the Assembly” . As for the leader of LFI Jean-Luc Mélenchon, he called on Emmanuel Macron to become “reasonable”. On the side of the majority, the elected Renaissance Marc Ferracci assures that the determination is “strong” and “will stay” to keep Emmanuel Macron’s campaign promise. “Still action is not allowed,” says the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, “open to improvements” on the text.
After the concessions granted on small pensions, then long careers, he spoke of a “progress report” in Parliament, before the presidential election of 2027. A new hand extended to the right, whose votes will be crucial to avoid resorting at 49-3. The examination of the text began Monday at the National Assembly in a stormy atmosphere. The government has set a deadline of February 17 for the examination of the text at the Palais Bourbon, one of the doors of which was tagged with messages hostile to the reform.