STRIKE MARCH 23. After the government’s recourse to 49.3 on pension reform, the unions are calling for a ninth national day of mobilization on Thursday March 23.
The mobilization against the reinvigorated pension reform? This Thursday, Elisabeth Borne engaged the responsibility of the government by drawing, under the boos of part of the National Assembly, article 49.3 of the Constitution allowing the pension reform to be adopted without a vote within the ‘Hémicycle. This decision nevertheless triggered the anger of the opposition and the unions. The latter promised a hardening of the mobilization and the inter-union called for a new day of interprofessional strike on Thursday, March 23rd.
In a press release, the unions also encouraged “local local rallies this weekend”. They denounced a passage in force, and a “true denial of democracy”, before pointing the finger at the responsibility of the executive “in the social and political crisis which results from this decision”. “With the support of the vast majority of the population, mobilized for weeks, the inter-union continues to demand the withdrawal of this reform in complete independence in calm and determined actions,” added the joint press release.
In a separate press release, the student union L’Alternative called on students to hold general assemblies this Friday “to block their places of study” and “to get closer to the sectors on strike, to identify and block the roads, nearby stations, ports and airports to support workers”. The last day of mobilization, which was held on Wednesday March 15, brought together more than 1.7 million demonstrators according to the CGT (against a record of 3.5 million on March 7 according to the unions) and 480,000 demonstrators according to the Ministry of the Interior (against a record of 1.28 million on March 7, still according to the Interior).
Strikes set to last?
In parallel with the announcement of a new inter-professional strike, other social movements are likely to last several days or even weeks. The CGT’s “waste treatment” sector, which includes garbage collectors, waste incineration plants and even sanitation, has decided to renew its strike “at least until Monday March 20”. Transport has adopted the renewable strike with daily disruptions since March 7. The SNCF and the RATP have not commented on the continuation of the mobilizations, but the unions must decide in the coming days.
Another sector where the unions are calling for the extension and hardening of strikes: refineries. That of TotalEnergies in Normandy will be stopped this weekend, announced the CGT. The refinery represents 22% of refining capacity in France according to the UFIP (French Union of Petroleum Industries) and supplies fuels in particular to the Paris basin. Asked about France Blue, Johan Senay, assistant secretary of the CGT at TotalEnergies and of the local union CGT Harfleur, estimated that the movement “will really harden. There, it will be hard strike movements. All the units will be stopped, and there will therefore be a total shutdown of the largest refinery in France.” With a risk of shortage in service stations? “I can’t say how long it will be,” he replied.