The showdown is on. The day of inter-union mobilization against the pension reform project brought together 1.12 million people on Thursday, January 19, according to the Ministry of the Interior, “more than two million” according to the CGT. A level of mobilization higher than that of December 5, 2019: at the start of the protest against the previous pension reform project, the police had counted 806,000 demonstrators in France, the CGT 1.5 million.
” On strike until retirement ” ? In Paris, demonstrators determined to mobilize over time
And unions as opposition do not intend to stop there. In an attempt to roll back the executive, the eight majority trade union organizations in the country (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC, Unsa, Solidaires and FSU) have agreed on a new date of action, January 31. In the meantime, the text will be presented to the Council of Ministers. We take stock of the calendar.
• Saturday 21 January: mobilization of youth associations, supported by LFI
On the evening of “the greatest social mobilization for twenty years”the leader of the rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon made an appointment “Saturday for the January 21 march” behind youth organizations. “Nothing says better the contempt of so many media for the youth than their relentlessness in denying the existence of youth organizations and their call”lamented the former leader of the rebellious in a blog post released Thursday.
Pensions: “When the reform was announced, I felt injustice and contempt for the workers”
“Against Macron’s project on pensions, we, associations, trade union organizations and youth policies, call for a united mobilization on Saturday January 21 in Paris”, indicate in a joint press release L’Alternative, la Voix lycéenne, les Jeunes insoumis.es, F! LD, the Young Antifascist Guard, Young Public Places, Young Ecologists, Young Generation. s, RED, POI, NPA Youth. “On the 21st, we continue: all in Paris! »expresses the high school student union on Twitter.
The Parisian demonstration will leave from the Place de la Bastille at 2 p.m.
• Monday 23 January: presentation of the bill to the Council of Ministers
An amending Social Security financing bill (PLFRSS) on pension reform will be presented to the Council of Ministers on Monday. Confederal Secretary of the CGT, Catherine Perret spoke of rallies “in front of the prefectures” Monday.
Sacrificed generations: behind the retirement age, social inequalities
For her, “The important thing is that there is a rolling fire of actions which shows that every day the employees are determined not to leave this government alone”. Several organizations are calling for local actions to be held on Monday, to coincide with the government calendar.
• Tuesday January 31: new day of inter-union mobilization
“This reform is unacceptable and goes against the interests of the population”who “make no mistake about it”said at the end of the demonstration on Thursday, January 19, the co-delegate general of the Solidaires trade union union, Simon Duteil, on behalf of the intersyndicale.
“The government must give up” the raising of the legal age to 64 in 2030 and the accelerated extension of the contribution period to 43 from 2027, adds the joint press release from the eight main unions.
Pension reform: seniors still pushed out
The representatives of the CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC, Unsa, Solidaires and FSU have set a new day for mobilization, January 31. A date chosen to give time to re-motivate the strikers of January 19.
By choosing a date at the end of the month, the unions also want to avoid losing strikers who could not afford to lose two days’ wages in the same month by going back to the streets, explains Murielle Guilbert to France info :
“There is inflation, more and more difficulties to make ends meet. You have to keep in mind the fact that the whole population is not always able to go on strike”.
• February 6: examination of the text at the Assembly
According to Franceinfo, the examination of the text should start on February 6. To speed up the debate, the executive could use Article 47.1 of the Constitution. He plans to send the text to the Senate after 20 days of debate in the National Assembly, even if the deputies have not finished examining it. The senators then have fifteen days to decide.
The government could also decide to resort to article 49.3 of the Constitution, in the event of disagreement with the amendments voted in the hemicycle.
