After that a very unpopular
The controversial reform increases the retirement age from 62 to 64 in France.
It also means that one must work for 43 years to be able to save up a full pension.
Many believe it is undemocratic that the government adopted the reform without a vote in the national assembly.
Reforma will bring France on the same level as the rest of Europe when it comes to retirement age.
” data-term=”pension reform”>pension reform was adopted without a vote in France, the people have taken to the streets to protest and show their displeasure. Several have also been arrested.
– It is quite dramatic, in a way, with constant demonstration trains and strikes.
Marius Haugen says so. He lives in Paris in the middle of protests and demonstrations, together with his wife Silje and daughter Aurora, aged 2.
Right outside the flat of Haugen and his family, the French took to the streets after the new pension reform was adopted.
– On Thursday evening, it came a little closer than it has been before. Then there was a group of breakaways from the main demonstrations who made their way up our street and had a clash with the police just past the intersection here.
Haugen is professor of French literature at NTNU, but has a year’s research stay in Paris.
Here he lives with his wife Silje and their daughter, Aurora, aged 2.
– Life goes on in its own way and one is used to it here that there is often a little liv in the streets. But it’s a bit extra at the moment, I think, says the professor.
“French manner” to take to the streets
It is not only the pension reform that causes the people to take to the streets. Recently, there have also been strikes among waste workers and in the transport industry.
The streets are littered with rubbish, buildings are on fire and protesters are sprayed with pepper spray.
But at the start there were peaceful demonstrations with sausage grilling and slogans. This was something the 2-year-old in the family enjoyed, as they passed the demonstrators on their way to the nursery school.
– She thought it was the most fun with big balloons. At the start of the demonstrations, before they got really angry, there was a little more life and joy, says the father.
Demonstrations have almost become a daily occurrence for him who has lived in France twice before.
– In a way, it is an authentic French experience. I have lived in France twice before and each time I have been here there have been some brutal demonstrations.
But after the government forced through the pension reform, the demonstrations suddenly became more brutal.
– Most of the people I talk to are angry and upset with the government. Especially after they forced through the reform. But then there are also some who are a bit upset about the somewhat more violent tendencies and the destruction that is happening, adds the professor.
From pleasant strikes to aggressive demonstrations
They themselves live in a quiet district, and have not felt unsafe because of the demonstrations and strikes.
– In other districts, it is a bit unpleasant to walk past large piles of rubbish that are not picked up. It is also the case that some of the most brutal demonstrators have set fire to these piles of rubbish. And it’s a lot scarier, says Haugen.
On the way to the kindergarten, the day after the demonstrations, they were met by a lot of rubbish and mess in the streets. Aurora, aged 2, thought the demonstration train was a lucia train with adults passing by the kindergarten.
Photo: private
Some of the demonstration trains passed the nursery passed the nursery and then the 2-year-old thought it was a lucia train with adults passing by. But when they feared for the children’s safety, they closed the nursery.
– It had to close a day earlier because the authorities could not guarantee safety when the demonstration train was going to pass right by.
