The strikes against the pension reform have continued since Monday March 13, while the inter-union calls for an eighth day of mobilization on Wednesday. This date was not chosen at random, since it is the day when the joint committee must be held. Seven deputies and seven senators will try to agree on a final version of the reform project. L’Express takes stock of what to expect in the various key sectors that are mobilizing.
Transport disrupted
All the unions of the SNCF called the railway workers, on March 7, to the renewable strike. Since then, rail traffic has been disrupted. Train traffic should be “markedly improving” on Monday, stipulated the railway company, but the disruptions continue however, with three TGV Inoui and Ouigo out of five and with one TER out of two on average.
If the mobilization is down, the unions intend to continue the movement. While the pension reform has just been voted on in the Senate, the federal secretary of the SUD-Rail union, Julien Troccaz, calls for “toughening up the movement” and speaks of a “decisive week” before the final vote on the text at the ‘National Assembly. “Our priority is to generalize the strike in this country from tomorrow (Monday)”, he explained on Sunday on franceinfo.
Wednesday should not be a “dark day” in public transport, reassured Transport Minister Clément Beaune on Tuesday morning. “In Ile-de-France, there will be few disruptions. At the SNCF today it is not a normal situation and it should be less good tomorrow. In air transport, only at Orly airport , there will be 20% less flights,” said the minister on France 2.
Garbage is piling up in Paris
Garbage collectors remain mobilized in several cities in France. In Paris, mounds of trash cans have formed. On the seventh day of the strike, 5,400 tonnes of waste had accumulated in the streets of the capital on Sunday, according to the town hall. Three incineration plants, those of Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne), Issy-les-Moulineaux (Hauts-de-Seine) and Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), are also at a standstill, explaining the overflowing garbage cans in certain neighborhoods.
In its renewable strike notice, the CGT recalls that garbage collectors and drivers can currently claim retirement at 57, an age pushed back to 59 in the event of the adoption of the pension reform. “The vast majority of staff in the management of cleanliness and water has a life expectancy of 12 to 17 years less than all employees,” says the union.
In Nantes (Loire-Atlantique), garbage collectors have been on renewable strike since March 7. The three waste collection sites in the metropolis have been blocked since that date, according to France Blue Loire Ocean. Since Saturday, “nearly 3.5 tonnes of waste have been accumulating in the streets”, the radio reported on Monday. The metropolis of Nantes recommends that residents do not take out their trash cans.
Strikes continue at some refineries
Strikes continue at several refineries. In Donges, near Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique), the strikers at the TotalEnergies refinery see further. The CGT announced Friday the renewal of the movement against the pension reform project until Thursday March 16 at 9 p.m.
“If the movement were to continue and grow on the other platforms, and we call on our colleagues from other refineries, oil depots, steam crackers, the fuel shortage will inevitably be felt quickly”, warned the CGT delegate, Fabien Privé Saint-Lanne on Friday.
In the Esso-ExxonMobil refinery in Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône), the strike movement was also renewed on Friday afternoon, the employees having revoked the strike until Monday morning. Fuel shipments had partially resumed Friday morning, the group said. But the CGT had immediately denounced a “manipulation” on the part of management to encourage employees to return to work.
In the neighboring Lavéra refinery, the blockage was voted until Monday morning, said Sébastien Varagnol (CGT). Fuel shipments, on the other hand, resumed on Thursday at the Esso-ExxonMobil site in Port-Jérôme-Gravenchon (Seine-Maritime).
