More than two million people took to the streets across France today to express their displeasure with the planned pension reforms. This was announced by Philippe Martinez, general secretary of the CGT trade union. The government figures are slightly lower with 1.12 million demonstrators. The unions have already announced a new day of action. It will take place on Tuesday, January 31.
A turbulent day full of protests in France. Millions of people took to the streets across the country to protest against the pension reforms that President Macron wants to introduce. In the capital alone, where the protest march started on the Place de la République, 400,000 people were counted, according to CGT. According to figures from the various prefectures, 36,000 people gathered in Toulouse, 26,000 in Marseille, 25,000 in Nantes, 23,000 in Lyon, and so on. The figures from the Ministry of the Interior, on the other hand, indicate 80,000 demonstrators in Paris. In addition, 10,000 police and gendarmes were deployed, 3,500 of them in the capital.
Tear gas
In the capital, police had to use tear gas against masked individuals who pelted law enforcement. Thirty people were arrested. The police also reported some skirmishes in Lyon and Rennes.
The strike day brought much of French life to a standstill. There was major disruption to public transport. Air traffic controllers also went on strike at Paris-Orly airport and many schools remained closed. According to the trade unions involved, more than 42 percent of teachers in primary education went on strike, in higher education that percentage even rose to 65 percent. At least three-quarters of the workforce in the oil refineries is said to have gone on strike. The Eiffel Tower was closed and ferry traffic between Calais and Dover was also paralyzed.
Large demonstrations were reported in numerous cities. The left-wing radical trade union CGT spoke of 25,000 demonstrators in Nantes. Marseille’s most famous avenue, La Canebière, was packed, according to eyewitnesses. Large demonstrations also took place in Grenoble, Le Havre, Lyon, Rouen and Toulouse.
Trade unions are particularly opposed to the government’s plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Another point of concern is the number of years that one must have worked in order to be entitled to a full pension.
At 62, France has one of the lowest minimum retirement ages in Europe. Initially, Macron intended to set the bar at 65 years. His government believes the reforms are necessary due to the rising number of pensioners. Only in this way can the financial viability of social security be safeguarded.
French governments have been struggling with pension reform for decades. Macron once had a reform plan disappear in a drawer due to fierce protests in 2020. His government no longer has a majority in parliament.
At the end of 1995, the country was paralyzed in this way for three weeks, when there were at least a million demonstrators in Paris. Three days later, the government withdrew the proposed pension reform.
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