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France lived this Monday a May 1 with new massive protests against the pension reform, in a context of concern about inflation, which caused strikes and demonstrations in the world in recent months.
“It’s a great May 1st. It is not the end of the fight, it is the protest of the world of work against this reform”, stressed the leader of the CFDT union, laurent bergerat the beginning of the demonstration in Paris on the occasion of the International Workers’ Day.
Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated again in France against delaying the retirement age from 62 to 64 years by 2030, that the liberal president Emmanuel Macron approved by decree and wants to apply from September.
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Since the start of the social conflict in January, the second largest economy in the European Union (EU) has focused world attention. This Monday, union representatives from Korea, Turkey, Colombia and Spain, among others, were present in Paris.
“It is not about preserving retirements in Francebut all over the world. People should be able to retire with dignity.” said david orchard56, representative of the US service sector union SEIU-USWW.
The pension reform in France It has questioned the importance given to work in the lives of citizens, after the covid pandemic and its confinements, and in full concern about the climate crisis.
“The covid was a kind of revelation and crisis of work, an ethical questioning to the weight of it “summed up the sociologist Marc Loriol on the radio France Inter in January, days after the start of the protests in France.
Environmental activists sprayed paint on the façade of the Louis Vuitton Foundation and the headquarters of the French Ministry of Justice, in the famous Place Vendôme, to denounce, in the latter case, a “law [de las pensiones] ‘climateicide’”.
But to this was added global concerns about purchasing power, given the increase in food and energy prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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He United Kingdomwhere inflation exceeds 10%, is experiencing, for example, a wave of social movements to demand an increase in wages, both in public services and in the private sector.
This demand was also present in the demonstrations held in Europe, from Portugal to Greece, especially when it has already caused demonstrations or sectoral strikes in recent months in several countries, including Canada and Argentina.
“Even with 5% [de aumento salarial], it’s complicated. If prices were at that level, perhaps one could continue living, but they have risen much more”, said Runold Jacobsköttera 67-year-old retiree, during a protest this Monday in Berlin.
Invitation
In Francethe unions are determined to continue the fight against an “unfair” reform that they consider punishes women who interrupted their careers to care for children, and for those who started working very young.
Although the protests on May 1 were the most numerous on this holiday in years, they do not appear to reach the level of mobilization at the beginning of March. The marches registered clashes with the police in Paris, Nantes and other cities.
The way out of the crisis seems difficult. Unions expect the Constitutional Council to validate on Wednesday a request by the left-wing opposition to organize a referendum limiting the retirement age to 62, after rejecting a similar proposal.
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Macron, who defends the reform as a way to avoid a future deficit in the pension fund, seeks for his part to relaunch his second term until 2027. But in his visits by France It does not stop having casseroles and boos.
One of the points on their roadmap to overcome the conflict is to negotiate an improvement in working conditions, but the unions have not yet decided whether they will attend the meeting together that Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne will propose to them soon.
The imposition of the reform caused a deterioration in the confidence of the French in Macron and in the institutions, a situation that, according to polls, benefits the far-right deputy Marine Le Pen.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
