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"As long as this reform isn't withdrawn, the mobilization will continue in one form or another," said one union leader.
Workers opposed to French President Emmanuel Macron's deeply unpopular plan to raise the nation's retirement age from 62 to 64 hit the streets Thursday in a final display of anger before the country's top court rules on the measure's constitutionality.
While thousands of people marched along the designated route in Paris, some protesters carrying lit flares diverged to the Constitutional Council, which is set to decide Friday whether to uphold Macron's proposed pension overhaul or rescind it partially or completely.
"They faced off with a large contingent of police deployed outside the building, where hours before the march got underway, other protesters had dumped bags of rubbish," Al Jazeera reported. "The rubbish piles were cleaned up but signaled the start of a new strike by rubbish collectors, timed to begin with the nationwide protest marches. A previous strike last month left the streets of the French capital filled for days with mounds of reeking refuse."
A police officer points a weapon at demonstrators during a protest against French President Emmanuel Macron's proposed pension overhaul in Paris on April 13, 2023.(Photo: Firas Abdullah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
According toCNN, the French government has imposed a ban on protests near the Constitutional Council from Thursday night through Saturday morning.
Last month, Macron advanced his plan to increase the minimum eligible retirement age as well as the number of years one must work to qualify for full benefits through executive order, bypassing the National Assembly once it became clear that his legislative proposal did not have enough support to pass France's lower house. The Senate had already approved the bill, including it in a budget package that expedited the process.
The labor movement has been organizing weekly strikes and peaceful rallies since mid-January, and the president's blatantly anti-democratic move to circumvent a vote only intensified working-class fury. The government, meanwhile, has responded with an increasingly repressive crackdown.
Union leaders, who have implored workers to maintain pressure on the government, called for a 12th round of action on Thursday.
\u201cWow. Another massive anti-Macron protest on the streets of Paris, France today that Western corporate media are trying very hard to ignore.\u201d— sarah (@sarah) 1681401665
Outside the capital, thousands of people also marched in Marseille, Toulouse, and other cities, including Nantes and Rennes, where a car was set ablaze.
"In Paris, banks and expensive stores secured their front windows with wooden boards but nevertheless, demonstrators broke into the headquarters of the French luxury group LVMH and set off firecrackers," Al Jazeera reported. "The authorities deployed 11,500 police officers, 4,200 of them in Paris alone."
Outside the LVMH building, union leader Fabien Villedieu toldCNN affiliate BFMTV that "if Macron wants to find money to finance the pension system, he should come here to find it."
\u201cThe strikes and protests in France haven\u2019t stopped.\n\nToday they stormed the headquarters of Louis Vuitton.\u201d— Stop Cop City (@Stop Cop City) 1681401084
“The mobilization is far from over," General Confederation of Labor leader Sophie Binet said at a trash incineration site south of Paris where hundreds of protesters blocked garbage trucks.
"As long as this reform isn't withdrawn, the mobilization will continue in one form or another," Binet added.
The nine-member Constitutional Council is expected to issue a binding ruling by the end of Friday to "partially approve, fully accept, or reject" Macron's proposed changes, Al Jazeera noted. "On Tuesday and Thursday, left-wing lawmakers visited the council to urge them to completely ban the reform. They have argued that the government's unorthodox method of resorting to a budget law to pass a pension reform, as well as invoking controversial Article 49.3 of the Constitution to bypass a parliament vote, is grounds for it to be thrown out."
Police officers detain a man demonstrating against French President Emmanuel Macron's proposed pension overhaul in Paris on April 13, 2023.(Photo: Ameer Alhalbi/Getty Images)
Progressive legislators and union leaders have portrayed the left's struggle against Macron's pension attack as a struggle for democracy in France.
A poll released last week found that reactionary lawmaker Marine Le Pen—leader of the far-right National Rally party, the largest opposition force in Parliament—would beat Macron by a margin of 55% to 45% in a head-to-head rematch. The neoliberal incumbent defeated Le Pen in a runoff election last April, but the openly xenophobic and Islamophobic challenger has gained significant ground since their first matchup in 2017.
"Either trade unions win this, or it will be the far right," Villedieu said last week. "If you sicken people—and that is what's happening—the danger is the arrival of the far right."
Ahead of Thursday's protests, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted: "This reform is unjust and violent. The French have been asking for it to be withdrawn for months, the government has to hear them."
A new poll shows that Marine Le Pen would beat French President Emmanuel Macron in a head-to-head rematch, making the left's struggle against Macron's pension attack a struggle for democracy in France.
As French workers intensify their fight against President Emmanuel Macron's deeply unpopular plan to raise the nation's retirement age from 62 to 64, the stakes couldn't be higher.
A poll released Wednesday shows that reactionary lawmaker Marine Le Pen—leader of the far-right National Rally party, the largest opposition force in Parliament—would beat Macron by a margin of 55% to 45% in a head-to-head rematch. The neoliberal incumbent defeated Le Pen in a runoff election last April, but the openly xenophobic and Islamophobic challenger has gained significant ground since their first matchup in 2017.
The new survey was conducted after Macron advanced his planned retirement age hike through executive order on March 16. The president bypassed the National Assembly once it became clear that his legislative proposal did not have enough support to pass France's lower house.
"We're in the middle of a social crisis, a democratic crisis."
Macron's blatantly anti-democratic move provoked an uproar. The labor movement had already been staging weekly nationwide strikes and peaceful marches since mid-January. But the president's decision to circumvent a vote last month has brought more people to the streets, with heightened participation from high school and university students, some of whom have set up barricades on campus.
Progressive lawmakers and union leaders have urged the working class to keep up the pressure, portraying the left's struggle against Macron's pension attack as a struggle for democracy in France.
"Either trade unions win this, or it will be the far right," Fabien Villedieu, a representative of a railway trade union, told France Info radio on Thursday. "If you sicken people—and that is what's happening—the danger is the arrival of the far right."
Laurent Berger, head of the French Democratic Confederation of Labor, told RTL radio that "we're still asking for the reform to be revoked."
"We're in the middle of a social crisis, a democratic crisis," he added.
Macron has so far refused to withdraw his proposed pension overhaul, which includes raising the minimum eligible retirement age and increasing the number of years one must work to qualify for full benefits. France's constitutional council is evaluating the legality of the government's plans and is set to issue a decision next Friday.
According toThe Guardian:
The constitutional council, which has the power to strike out some or even all of the legislation, will assess the pension changes based on a strict interpretation of the law. Constitutional experts say the council is unlikely to strike the legislation down fully.
The government is playing for time, hoping protests and strikes will fizzle out. Unions want to show that the protest movement still has momentum, whatever the council's decision.
Hundreds of thousands of people have continued to rally across France in recent weeks. The government has responded with an increasingly repressive crackdown.
An 11th round of strikes on Thursday caused further disruption to schools, public transit, and energy production. In addition, clashes broke out "between demonstrators and police on the edges of protests in cities including Lyon, Nantes, and Paris," The Guardian reported.
Workers' anger is palpable and mounting.
"In the capital, protesters briefly set fire to the awning of the Left Bank brasserie La Rotonde, well known for hosting Macron's controversial evening of celebrations when he led the first-round vote in the 2017 presidential election," The Guardian noted.
Meanwhile, rat catchers threw dead vermin at city hall.
\u201cParis has been without trash pickup for weeks. Chaos and garbage everywhere. And rats: lots of rats.\n\nNow the rat catchers joined the protest against the Pension Reform, and threw the dead vermin in front of the charming Hotel de Ville, Paris City Hall.\n\n\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\u201d— Paul Serran (@Paul Serran) 1680748331
Also on Thursday, striking workers "forced their way into the building that houses BlackRock's office in Paris Thursday, taking their protest against the government's pension reforms to the world's biggest money manager," CNNreported. "About 100 people, including representatives of several labor unions, were on the ground floor of the building for about 10 minutes, chanting anti-reform slogans. BlackRock's office is located on the third floor."
Jerome Schmitt, a spokesperson for the French labor confederation SUD, told reporters: "The meaning of this action is quite simple. We went to the headquarters of BlackRock to tell them: the money of workers, for our pensions, they are taking it."
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager with a nearly $9 trillion portfolio, has not been involved in Macron's assault on France's public pension system. But workers targeted the financial institution due to its role in overseeing the private pension funds that they may be forced to rely on.
"The government wants to throw away pensions, it wants to force people to fund their own retirement with private pension funds," one teacher toldReuters. "But what we know is that only the rich will be able to benefit from such a setup."
\u201cStriking workers storm BlackRock\u2019s Paris office to protest the corporate giant\u2019s role in privatizing workers\u2019 pensions.\n\nJerome Schmitt, a union spokesperson, said, \u201cThe meaning of this action is quite simple. We went to the headquarters of BlackRock to tell them: the money of\u2026\u201d— More Perfect Union (@More Perfect Union) 1680789576
Le Pen, for her part, "has kept a low profile, hoping to increase her support among low-income workers, many of whom began their careers earlier and will be more greatly affected by the pension changes," The Guardian reported.
Earlier this week, left-wing luminaries alarmed by France's escalating repression of pension defenders as well as environmentalists campaigning against water privatization signed a Progressive International petition.
"We stand with the French people in the face of violent crackdowns on popular protest and the criminalization of dissent by Emmanuel Macron's government," it states. "The extreme violence of the police and the criminalization by the interior minister are clearly aimed at suppressing the movement against the pension cuts. This is an unacceptable attack on the democratic freedoms and human rights of French citizens."
"This forced passage with the use of Article 49.3 must be met with a response in line with this show of contempt toward the people," declared one union leader as MPs introduced no-confidence motions.
Protests in Paris and across France have ramped up since President Emmanuel Macron's government on Thursday used a controversial constitutional measure to force through a pension reform plan without a National Assembly vote.
Fears that the Senate-approved measure—which would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64—did not have enough support to pass the lower house of Parliament led to a Council of Ministers meeting, during which Macron reportedly said that "my political interest would have been to submit to a vote… But I consider that the financial, economic risks are too great at this stage."
"This reform is outrageous, punishing women and the working class, and denying the hardship of those who have the toughest jobs."
After the meeting, French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced the decision to go with the "nuclear option," invoking Article 49.3 of the French Constitution—a calculated risk considering the potential for a resulting motion of no-confidence.
Members of Parliament opposed to the overhaul filed a pair of no-confidence motions on Friday, and votes are expected on Monday. Although unlikely, given the current makeup of the legislature, passing such a motion would not only reject the looming pension law but also oust Macron's prime minister and Cabinet, and likely lead to early elections in France.
As Deutsche Wellereported:
"The vote on this motion will allow us to get out on top of a deep political crisis," said the head of the so-called LIOT group Bertrand Pancher, whose motion was co-signed by members of the broad left-wing NUPES coalition.
The far-right National Rally (RN) filed a second motion, but that was expected to get less backing. RN lawmaker Laure Lavalette however said her party would vote for "all" no-confidence motions filed. "What counts is scuppering this unfair reform bill," she said.
Leaders of the Les Republicains (LR) are not sponsoring any such motions. Reutersexplained that individuals in the conservative party "have said they could break ranks, but the no-confidence bill would require all of the other opposition lawmakers and half of LR's 61 lawmakers to go through, which is a tall order."
Still, Green MP Julien Bayou said, "it's maybe the first time that a motion of no-confidence may overthrow the government."
Meanwhile, protests against the pension proposal—which have been happening throughout the year—continue in the streets, with some drawing comparisons to France's "Yellow Vests" movement sparked by fuel prices and economic conditions in 2018.
Not long after Borne's Article 49.3 announcement on Thursday, "protesters began to converge on the sprawling Place de la Concorde in central Paris, a mere bridge away from the heavily guarded National Assembly," according toFrance 24.
As the news outlet detailed:
There were the usual suspects, like leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, thundering against a reform he said had "no legitimacy—neither in Parliament, nor in the street." Unionists were also out in strength, hailing a moral victory even as they denounced Macron's "violation of democracy."
Many more were ordinary protesters who had flocked to the Concorde after class or work. One brandished a giant fork made of cardboard as the crowd chanted "Macron démission" (Macron resign). Another spray-painted an ominous message on a metal barrier—"The shadow of the guillotine is nearing"—in the exact spot where Louis XVI was executed 230 years ago.
Police used tear gas to disperse the Concorde crowd. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told RTL radio 310 people were arrested nationwide—258 of them in Paris. He said, "The opposition is legitimate, the protests are legitimate, but wreaking havoc is not."
Anna Neiva Cardante is a 23-year-old student whose parents, a bricklayer and a cleaner, "are among those who stand to lose most."
"A vote in the National Assembly was the government’s only chance of securing a measure of legitimacy for its reform," Neiva Cardante told France 24 as police cleared the crowd Thursday. "Now it has a full-blown crisis on its hands."
"This reform is outrageous," she added, "punishing women and the working class, and denying the hardship of those who have the toughest jobs."
Across the French capital early Friday, "traffic, garbage collection, and university campuses in the city were disrupted, as unions threatened open-ended strikes," DW noted. "Elsewhere in the country, striking sanitation workers blocked a waste collection plant that is home to Europe's largest incinerator to underline their determination."
"Article 49.3 constitutes a triple defeat for the executive: popular, political, and moral," declared Laurent Escure, secretary general of the labor union UNSA. "It opens up a new stage for the protests."
Philippe Martinez of the CGT union asserted that "this forced passage with the use of Article 49.3 must be met with a response in line with this show of contempt toward the people."