The disruptions generated by the strike of this Thursday, April 6, 2023 are significant, but the protest seems to be easing. This is measured in particular on the circulation of trains and RERs.
This Thursday, April 6, 2023, the unions gathered to oppose the pension reform hope that the challenge will still be significant. This eleventh day of strike, organized one week before the decision of the Constitutional Council on the constitutionality of the bill, will be followed, but very differently depending on the sector. The extent of blockages, dropouts and paralysis will be observed, but it is also the number of people mobilized in the demonstrations that will make it possible to gauge the level of protest. Here is what we know, for the time being, about the disruptions announced and expected.
The transport sector, unsurprisingly, will continue the renewable strike and will be mobilized for the eleventh act of the social movement against the pension reform, on Thursday April 6.
What disturbances at the SNCF?
The SNCF plans this Thursday, April 6 three TGV and Ouigo out of four, one Intercity out of four and one TER out of two. In Île-de-France, the circulation of Transilien and RER will also be disrupted, the RER D will be the most impacted.
What disturbances at the RATP?
On the side of the RATP, the intersyndicale, made up of the RATP branches of the unions, CGT, FO, UNSA, CFE-CGC, did not speak with one voice on the strike movement of April 6. Traffic should be “almost normal except for a few lines” on the metro. On RER A and RER B, disruptions should also be marginal, bus and tram traffic will be normal.
If rail transport has been systematically mobilized during strike days since the start of the social movement against pension reform, other sectors tend to follow their example.
In the air sector in particular, in which a strike by controllers is raging, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has announced new flight cancellations, due to the call of the inter-union for a new day of mobilization on April 6. Companies are canceling 20% of their flights to Marseille, Nantes, Bordeaux and Toulouse. But Paris-Orly airport must operate without disruption this Thursday, April 6.
After three weeks of strike against the pension reform, the movement of Parisian garbage collectors was suspended on March 28. But the agents of the waste treatment sector have not decided to put an end to the mobilization, they will relaunch their unhooking movement on
If the strike movement of the Parisian garbage collectors is therefore suspended for the moment, the walkouts continue in other French cities. Thus, the garbage collectors of the agglomeration of Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d’Armor) voted on March 31 for the renewal of their strike movement until Friday April 7 inclusive, reports The Telegram. A movement that has been going on since March 7. On the side of Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), the waste collection trucks have not left the depots since March 29, due to a strike movement launched by the FO and CGT branches of the agents of the Toulouse metropolis, like the ‘noted Toulouse News.
The strike movement continues in the oil sector, and the strike of April 6 must be followed with blockades in refineries and fuel depots in France. These shutdowns of all or part of the production generate situations of lack of fuel, but in a limited way. To respond to these supply problems, the State has made requisitions in certain places, in particular the oil depot at Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône) and the refinery at Gonfreville-l’Orcher (Seine -Maritime).
Walkouts also continue in other places. Thus, the employees of the ExxonMobil refinery in Port-Jérôme-sur-Seine (Seine-Maritime) will be on strike until April 6 inclusive. This refinery provides 20% of French refining capacity. On the side of the TotalEnergies refinery in Donges (Loire-Atlantique), the renewable strike will continue at least until April 7, reports France Blue.
In the education sector, the SNUipp-FSU expects to see many more primary school teachers strike on 6 April. As far as secondary education is concerned, teachers are not required to declare themselves strikers in advance, and it is therefore difficult to establish precise forecasts. In a leaflet published on March 31, the SUD education union in any case calls on education personnel “to harden, amplify and renew the strike, and participate in blocking actions”, and “to converge massively with the other professional sectors on Thursday 6 April to bend the government”. In addition, the high school inter-union, made up of the student unions FIDL, the Voix lycéenne and the Mouvement national lycéen, should also be mobilized for this eleventh day of strike and demonstrations against the pension reform.
Where are the protests on April 6?
This Thursday, the unions are organizing mobilizations in the streets of the largest municipalities in France, hoping that the social protest does not fade. If the movement is running out of steam and the processions are scattered, then the balance of power established for weeks between the trade unions and the executive will take another form. The main event is organized in Paris, in the afternoon, from the Invalides to the Place d’Italie. To find out where the processions are, see this article on the subject:
A strike but no reversal on the pension reform?
This new day of mobilization was announced at the end of a tenth day of strike and demonstrations, Tuesday, March 28, marked by a declining participation in terms of both strikers and demonstrators. The mobilization in the streets and in businesses on April 6 will therefore be important for the rest of the movement. Before that, the main unions will have another important meeting. Indeed, the representations of the inter-union organizations will be received at Matignon on Wednesday April 5 for a meeting with Elisabeth Borne. Speaking at the podium of the CGT congress, where she had just been elected to succeed Philippe Martinez, the union’s new general secretary, Sophie Binet, announced on March 31 that “the united intersyndicale” will meet Elisabeth Borne on April 5 “to demand the withdrawal of the reform” of pensions. Words reported by TF1 News.
“It can turn short”, however warned on franceinfo, Saturday, April 1, Jean-Claude Mailly, former secretary general of Force Ouvrière, who led the union organization for 14 years. “If there is no break, it means that there will be dissatisfaction on the union side and that it will fuel the demonstrations the next day,” he continued. If Elisabeth Borne indicated on March 31 that, during this meeting, “everyone will be able to discuss the subjects they wish”, the Prime Minister has indeed warned that “we cannot take a break when we have a project of law that has been voted”, as indicated West France. “The time for retirement is not over. For the moment, we are not at the stage of developing a social agenda on other subjects”, reacted on this subject Laurent Berger, secretary general of the CFDT, in the columns of Parisian on April 1, before adding: “Let’s be clear! When we go to see the Prime Minister, we will talk to her about pensions, we will ask that the project be suspended, stopped, withdrawn. We will continue to promote the idea of mediation And, on Thursday, we will mobilize massively.”