Macron on the ropes: how did a pension reform provoke massive anger in France?

It was expected to be a day of hell for the Government and it came true. More than a million people expressed their anger in the streets across France against the reform of the pension system proposed by the Executive of Emmanuel Macronwho, despite the massive rejection, said he was determined to approve the measure.

LOOK: Protests in France: massive strikes and demonstrations against the pension reform

“We are here to say no”, “retirement before arthritis”, “subway, work, grave”, “Lose your life trying to earn it” either “Macron wants us to die in the post” are some of the phrases that resounded from Marseille to Nantes, in the midst of national strikes and demonstrations by citizens who supported the call for mobilization launched by the French unions.

The main unions estimate that the goal of two million protesters throughout the country was exceeded, while the Ministry of the Interior estimated participation at 1.1 million. The largest call was given in the French capital, where 800,000 people took to the streets.

In addition to the unions, many small organizations and thousands of students to workers close to retirement also marched with chants and banners. As for the strikes, sectors such as public transport or education joined, suspended or reduced their activities.

Philippe Martínez, Secretary General of the French General Confederation of Labor (CGT), stated that “the mobilization is the image of what we read in the polls, that is to say, that a great majority of the citizens of this country are against this reform”.

Protesters wave flags of the French union CGT during a demonstration called by French unions against the government’s pension reform plan in Marseille, southern France, January 19, 2023. – January 19, 2023 began a day of strikes and protests in France to disrupt transport and education across the country in a lawsuit for the government as workers oppose a deeply unpopular pension reform. (Photo by NICOLÁS TUCAT / AFP) (NICOLAS TUCAT /)

Rodrigo Murillo, a Peruvian historian and political analyst based in France, points out that it was a day of almost total paralysis. “Trains between cities, suburban trains and the Paris metro were almost completely paralyzed. Also, most of the schools, due to the mobilizations to which the teachers have joined, and some health centers -because in these establishments there are also personnel who will be affected by the reform- are partially paralyzed. A significant percentage of flights have been cancelled, in addition”, he tells El Comercio.

For this reason, he explains, all the companies capable of doing so, ordered a mandatory remote work day in response to the mobilization of the unions.

Although, in general, the mobilizations took place peacefully, in Paris, riot police repelled demonstrators who were throwing projectiles on the sidelines of one of the protests. The authorities reported that 38 people were arrested for causing incidents and destruction.

deep anger

The retirement system reform project is one of Macron’s priorities for 2023. In fact, it is one of the key measures that the president promised during the campaign that led to his re-election in April 2022.

The will of the government is to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, also bringing forward to 2027 the requirement to work 43 years to collect a full pension. According to the Executive, these measures are essential for the financial balance of the system.

A protester waves a sparkler during a demonstration called by French unions against the government’s pension reform plan in Marseille, southern France, on January 19, 2023. – On January 19, 2023, a protest began in France. day of strikes and protests. disrupt transportation and education across the country in a lawsuit for the government, as workers oppose a deeply unpopular pension reform. (Photo by NICOLÁS TUCAT / AFP) (NICOLAS TUCAT /)

On the other hand, the latest polls suggest that the majority of the French are opposed to the reform. The unions affirm that the measure endangers hard-fought rights and propose a tax on the rich or that employers increase their contribution to payrolls to finance the pension system, reports the Efe news agency.

Macron, who was in Barcelona on Thursday for a bilateral summit with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, fears that any prolonged strikes will hamper the economy just as France is fighting inflation and trying to boost growth.

For Murillo, a “perfect storm” seemed to be looming over France for a long time. He recalls that very recently, for example, due to a stoppage of Total Energies workers in the country’s refineries, there was a situation of fuel shortages for several days. There was no gasoline anywhere, and it was like that for more than ten days.

“Because of this, and a few other things, I have the impression that the French population is getting dangerously tired of what is ‘politically correct’ and is demanding immediate solutions to deep problems: inflation, overflowing migration, shortages, lack of of opportunities”, he points out.

A great challenge for Macron

Murillo emphasizes that the day of protests was a crucial day for Macron and that, because pension reform was one of the themes of his presidential campaign, it constitutes a commitment that he will probably try to honor before the end of his term.

The president of France, Emmanuel Macro, does not want to reverse his reform. (Photo: AFP) (LUDOVIC MARIN/)

Despite the protests, Macron He affirmed that the Government is not going to go back on its plans to carry out the reform. “If we want to be fair between the generations and save our pay-as-you-go system, we must carry out this reform”he claimed.

However, the party Macron It does not have an absolute majority in the National Assembly, so the government will need the support of at least one other party to carry out the reform, which is directly rejected by the left and the extreme right.

Regarding the performance of the French president, Murillo considers that the president manages public relations very well at the level of the European Unionand the presence of France in the world, “but he seems incapable of really convincing the French that he has the tools to solve these serious problems facing the country.”

“It is also true that Macron He has so far benefited from the presence of a rather old-fashioned, recalcitrant right and left, who have in no way been able to compete with the centrist platform that made him president. But this is only for the moment. If the situation in the country continues to worsen, as a result of the problems that afflict France deeply, it is possible that the electorate is increasingly prone to the adoption of desperate solutions, even extreme”add.

Transport workers during a protest called by the French unions in front of the Gare de Lyon, in Paris. (Photo: AFP) (STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/)

The government had already expressed its concern that Thursday’s call could encourage the unions to continue with prolonged strikes, a fear that came true with the announcement by the French unions of a new day of mobilizations for next January 31.

Murillo also points out that, in a context of international war, with a European Union motorized in a certain way with the German economic power, but with the rather political leadership of Francethe situation is not easy for Macron Neither at a national level nor at an international level.

“And although we could consider that both planes have no relationship, to the extent that Macron’s international leadership is not supported by reality (Germany does not pay much attention to him, for example), it is likely that this highlights not only his lack of international leadership, but also the decline of France’s power to effectively lead the European Union. And this decline, of which the French with their imperial past are well aware, is indeed the responsibility of the current president as well as those who preceded him in power. And I don’t think the French will tolerate that lack of leadership.”, he comments.

Source: Elcomercio