After a third day below the expectations of the trade unions, the mobilization against the pension reform started to rise again this Saturday, February 11. The toll does not exceed one million people for the Ministry of the Interior, which counted 963,000 demonstrators, including 93,000 in Paris. But according to the unions, it is a record day in the processions with “more than 2.5 million” people counted throughout France, according to the CGT, including 500,000 in Paris alone. We are getting closer to the figures of January 31, where the organizers claimed 2.8 million demonstrators. Le Parisien takes stock of the mobilization.
Marseille
Leaving from the Old Port to reach the Porte d’Aix via the surroundings of the MuCEM, the Marseille procession was once again full with 140,000 people according to the organizers, and 12,000 according to the authorities. On February 7, the difference between the two estimates was already significant, with 15,000 participants according to the prefecture and 180,000 according to the CGT. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, as usual, was present among the demonstrators. “Mr. Macron, if he is counting on wear and tear, is in the wrong country,” he told journalists present in the Marseille city. From the start of the afternoon, the leader of rebellious France was counting on “the densest social day for 50 years”.
Lille
In the northern prefecture, the number of demonstrators fluctuates between 10,700 and 70,000, according to figures from the prefecture and those of trade unions. Other cities in the region have mobilized massively. The CGT counted 13,000 people in Boulogne-sur-Mer, the police 3,500. There were also several thousand in Calais, Cambrai and Saint-Omer. Even smaller towns gathered massively: in Béthune, in the Pas-de-Calais, where our colleagues from La Voix du Nord report 3,000 people listed, while the town has about 25,000 inhabitants.
Toulouse
Organized in the morning, the Toulouse demonstration brought together 100,000 people according to the unions (30,000 according to the police, reports The Midi Dispatch), i.e. 20,000 more than during the third round of mobilization. The inter-union also announces 10,000 demonstrators in Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) and 8,000 in the streets of Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne).
Lyon
Mobilization also on the rise in Lyon (Rhône), where the organizers announce 35,000 demonstrators, reports Progress. The police counted 15,800 people on the streets of the city. Some overflows enameled the demonstration, with broken glass on the ground, and bottles sent in the direction of the CRS.
Rennes
The prefecture of Brittany, which had experienced overflows on Tuesday, with 13 people arrested, again experienced overflows. Clashes between protesters and police broke out. Saturday’s demonstration brought together 40,000 people according to the unions (25,500 according to the prefecture), a figure up from the parades of January 31 and February 7.
Nantes
Important mobilization also in Nantes, where the procession brought together 70,000 people according to the unions, 23,000 according to the police. Clashes also broke out there when the demonstrators tried to reach the point of arrival on the island of Nantes. For an hour, the police used tear gas while projectiles were thrown in their direction, reports an AFP journalist. At least two people were arrested.
Roanne, Saint-Étienne, Guéret… a visible jump in medium-sized towns
Significant differences between the estimates of the authorities and those of the organizers have been identified in other medium-sized cities, but the mobilization is also on the rise there. This is the case in Saint-Étienne, where the figures even vary from one to six (between 5,300 and 30,000), or in Clermont-Ferrand (between 8,000 and 50,000). In Roanne (Loire), the police counted 6,000 demonstrators, against 3,000 on Tuesday. Same trend in Périgueux, where 5,200 people marched against 3,700 four days earlier. Or even in Guéret, with 4,000 participants against 2,900 at the start of the week.
With this new auspicious day, the unions hope to be heard by the government and by parliamentarians, failing which they threaten to “bring France to a halt” on March 7, inviting all sectors to mobilize.
