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French Crowds March as Government Stands Firm on Pension Reform

December 17, 2019 

Hundreds of thousands of French protesters took to the streets on Tuesday, in opposition to the pension reform, December 17, 2019 afp

 

French crowds march as government stands firm on pension reform

AFP, December 17, 2019

Hundreds of thousands of French protesters took to the streets Tuesday in a pension reform standoff that has sparked nearly two weeks of crippling transport strikes, with the government vowing it will not give in to union demands to drop the overhaul.

Police in Paris fired teargas after protesters hurled projectiles at them. By late afternoon police said 27 people had been arrested in the French capital.

Teachers, hospital workers and other public employees joined transport workers for the third day of marches since the dispute began on December 5.

The interior ministry said about 615,000 people took part in more than 100 rallies countrywide, including 76,000 demonstrators in Paris.

The hardline CGT union tweeted that 1.8 million demonstrators had turned out across the country, a figure higher than the 1.5 million it claimed for the previous big protest day on December 5.

The Eiffel Tower was closed because of the protest and police were on high alert -- wary of a repeat of earlier marches when shops were vandalised and vehicles set on fire.

The CGT said electricity workers had cut power to some 50,000 homes near Bordeaux and 40,000 in Lyon overnight as part of the protest, warning that bigger cuts could follow.

- PM's determination 'is total' -

The day of action was "a total success" said CGT leader Philippe Martinez. "Despite the government's attempts at division, the people remain mobilised," he added.

The government has insisted it will push through a single points-based pension system and end the current patchwork of 42 separate schemes that offer early retirement to many in the public sector.

It says the new system will be fairer and more transparent, improving pensions for women and low earners in particular.

"My determination, and that of the government and the majority, is total," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told parliament on the eve of fresh talks with unions.

AFP / Thomas SAINT-CRICQ Retirement, work, income: key figures for older people in the EU

Critics say the changes could force millions of people to work beyond the official retirement age of 62 -- one of the lowest in Europe -- by setting a "pivot age" of 64 that would ensure a full pension.

"What scares us about the points system is that we don't know how much a point is worth," said Kelly Grosset-Curtet, a 21-year-old student marching in Lyon.

Pressure on President Emmanuel Macron is growing just days before the Christmas break after the top official overseeing the pension negotiations was forced to resign on Monday after it emerged he had failed to declare income.

Laurent Berger, head of France's largest union the moderate CFDT, took part in the Paris protest and described the pension reform measures were "terribly unjust".

- 'Mess up Christmas' -

Commuters in Paris and other big cities have borne the brunt of the transport stoppages so far but holiday travel plans are now at risk, with just one in four high-speed TGV trains running on Tuesday.

Strike organisers are hoping for a repeat of 1995 when they forced the government to back down on pension reform after three weeks of metro and rail stoppages just before Christmas.

There were other major protests beyond Paris on Tuesday, with 20,000 turning out in the southern city of Marseille, according to local officials. The protest leaders put the figure at 200,000.

Strike organisers are hoping for a repeat of 1995 when they forced the government to back down on pension reform after three weeks of metro and rail stoppages just before Christmas.

There were other major protests beyond Paris on Tuesday, with 20,000 turning out in the southern city of Marseille, according to local officials. The protest leaders put the figure at 200,000.

Some 62 percent of respondents to a poll for the RTL broadcaster said they support the strike but 69 percent said they wanted a "Christmas truce".

"Nobody wants to mess up Christmas, not the strikers nor workers nor the French who want to be with their families," Laurent Escure of the UNSA union told France 2 television.

"But this is entirely the government's fault."

- 'Absurd' -

Train operator SNCF has warned that it may now be too late to get services back to normal by December 25. But it assured that all TGV ticket holders would be able to travel over the pre-Christmas weekend, though with some changes to timetables.

Several universities have cancelled or postponed year-end exams, and both the Garnier and Bastille Operas in Paris have cancelled dozens of performances, costing millions of euros in lost ticket sales.

"This is absurd," Sylvie Baheux, a 55-year-old gym teacher, said at Paris' Saint-Lazare station on Tuesday, adding that her usual one-hour commute to work had doubled during the strike.

"It's complicated but this pension reform needed to be done," she told AFP.

Opposition leaders have urged the government to rethink the pension reform plans.

The travel misery is set to continue on the 14th day of the strike Wednesday, with half of the capital's 16 metro lines closed, most of the rest severely curtailed, and the number of regional and suburban trains slashed.

https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/french-crowds-march-government-stands-firm-pension-reform-doc-1n47sp5

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France hit by more strikes against pension reform

DW, December 17, 2019

From Eiffel Tower operators to hospital doctors, the strikes have drawn French workers from major sectors of the economy. But the French could be losing their appetite for disruption as the holidays draw near.

Travel and public services across France were disrupted on Tuesday as strikes against pension reform entered their 13th day.

Most long-distance and commuter trains were not running Tuesday. International trains and air travel were also affected. 

Workers from across the French labor force, including teachers and doctors, joined transport workers in nationwide strikes. Hundreds of thousands of protesters also took to the streets in cities across the country. 

French trade unions have called for a major push before the holidays, urging workers across all sectors to go on strike and join mass protests organized across the country.

Paris shut down

A protest march began in the afternoon at Place de la Republique in central Paris. Shops were closed along the protest route, riot police lined both sides of the central Boulevard Beaumarchais, and barricades were erected across the traffic circle in Bastille Square.

A reporter for Reuters news agency said police fired tear gas and stun grenades at demonstrators in Place de la Nation. Protesters dressed in black reportedly hurled projectiles at police.  

The city's iconic Eiffel Tower was closed Tuesday as the monument's employees went on strike. 

Eight out of the capital's 14 metro lines were closed, while others offered bare-minimum services. Around 80% of trains in the Ile-de-France region, where Paris is located, were not operating.

Police said they had deployed additional security forces across the city in order to protect people and property from possible cases of violence.

The Eiffel Tower was closed 'due to a national strike'

Government 'determined' to reform system 

France has been rocked by nearly two weeks of protests since President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to bump the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Despite the ongoing protests, the French government said it won't back down on implementing its reform plans. 

"Democratic and union opposition to our project is perfectly legitimate. But we have stated clearly what our project was and my government is totally determined to reform the pensions system and to balance the pension system's budget," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told the French Parliament on Tuesday. 

The government was hit by a major setback on Monday when the High Commissioner for Pensions, Jean-Paul Delevoye, announced he would step down after failing to disclose several other jobs he held alongside the pensions portfolio. He is the chief architect of the current proposed pension reform.

Holiday flop

The unions and the French government are each hoping to push the other to back down before Christmas.

Although polls suggest a majority in France supports the strikes, an Ifop poll for news daily Le Figaro showed that 55% of respondents believed they should not affect the holidays.

However, transport trade unions have warned that strikes could continue through Christmas, potentially disrupting holiday travel. 

  wmr,ls/ng (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)

https://www.dw.com/en/france-hit-by-more-strikes-against-pension-reform/a-51704367

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