Several hundred people demonstrated this Thursday afternoon in Niort to defend pensions. The preservation of public services was also part of the demands.
There were many gray hairs in the procession of demonstrators, this Thursday in Niort, to respond to the call of an inter-union for the regional mobilization of defense of pensions.
500 to 800 people gathered to express their fears about their retirement pension which no longer follows the cost of living.
Women are particularly affected by the decline in their retirement income: In France, they receive a pension that is 40% lower than men. “I started working at the age of 14, and today I reach 900 euros and I live with that”, tells us a retiree who wishes to remain anonymous. “I tell myself that even if I had the ceiling of the poverty line I would be happy“, she adds.
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Among the slogans and demands, many also relate to the preservation of public services, especially in rural areas, where, for example, there are more and more medical deserts. Gérard Faye, CGT activist lives in a town of 10,000 inhabitants “with only 2 part-time doctors“, he laments. “And to go to the hospital, you have to travel 30 or 40 kilometers“, adds this Charente retiree.
In the procession, many people took to the streets to show their solidarity with the pensioners, but also for the following generations.
We can’t complain if we don’t fight. Even if you are old, you have to go!
Monique Bartholomeus, retired
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On their way, the demonstrators arrested the deputy of Deux-Sèvres, Guillaume Chiche, who affirmed his full support for maintaining the retirement age at 60.
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