Fabian Roussel calls on “one million” French people “to take to the streets” in view of the demonstrations against the pension reform, next Thursday, January 19.
The national secretary of the French Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, on Saturday urged “one million” French people “to take to the streets” on January 19, the first day of union and political mobilization against the pension reform.
“Public, private, young, retired, we all have to go out massively (…) Let’s be 1 million to break into the street. It’s only this meeting that counts”, declared Fabien Roussel in the Journal du sunday.
“Establish a balance of power”
At a meeting in Toulouse, MP LFI Clémentine Autain also felt that on January 19, we must “put the package”. “That’s when we establish the balance of power”.
“The higher we start, the more obviously the rise in power will be strong,” she insisted to AFP.
CGT boss Philippe Martinez also hopes “millions” of French people mobilized on January 19.
Fabien Roussel has again proposed submitting the pension reform to a referendum rather than a vote in Parliament. “We want a real debate on a progressive pension reform. The people must be fully involved.”
Mobilization scheduled for next Thursday
“A referendum is six months of campaigning. What could be more democratic than engaging in a debate in the factories, the universities, the media, project against project?”, Underlined the deputy.
The government’s plan aims to gradually raise the retirement age to 64, instead of the current 62, while accelerating the extension of the contribution period.
The main unions, unanimously opposed to this reform, will mobilize next Thursday for a first day of strikes and demonstrations. The entire left has called for joining the protest.
In recent weeks, “Emmanuel Macron has organized a sham consultation: the changes made to the initial project do not detract from its brutality for millions of employees. It is he who makes the choice of weapons”, lamented Fabien Roussel.
