On Tuesday, the strike will once again include transportation and the education sector. And the company, “Air France”, announced the cancellation of one out of ten short and medium flights, provided that long-distance flights are not affected.
On the eve of a new day of mobilization to protest the pension reform proposed by President Emmanuel Macron, tensions escalated politically and socially on Monday, against the background of the start of the parliamentary debate over the controversial text.
This bill provides for raising the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 years and accelerating the extension of the contribution period.
The first day of demonstrations and strikes on January 19 saw between one and two million people gather to show their opposition to reform. Unions, which are rarely united in this way, hope that the new movement will have the same momentum, a hope confirmed by opinion polls that showed growing popular rejection of the project.
Transportation strike and the education sector
Laurent Bergé, Secretary General of the French Democratic Union of Labor, declared that Prime Minister Elisabeth Bourne “cannot remain silent in front of this massive mobilization”.
On Tuesday, the strike will once again include transportation and the education sector. And the company, “Air France”, announced the cancellation of one out of ten short and medium flights, provided that long-distance flights are not affected.
A source in the intelligence services said that 1.2 million people are expected to participate nationwide, “including 100,000 in Paris, with 240 upcoming gatherings or marches.”
The government is still firm in its stance and has announced that it will deploy 11,000 police and gendarmerie personnel, including 4,000 in Paris, to ensure the security of the demonstrations.
Elizabeth Bourne confirmed at the weekend that this reform is “non-negotiable,” while Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin accused a large part of the left-wing opposition of seeking to “sow chaos in the country.”
On Monday, the deputies began studying the draft law within the Parliamentary Committee, to be submitted to the National Assembly as of February 6.
On the far-right front, the leader of the National Rally Party, Marine Le Pen, warned the prime minister not to “go too far” in her position, “because according to the turn of things, voting on reforming the pension system does not seem impossible.”
Other political parties on the right and left also criticized the government’s position.
Emmanuel Macron lacks a majority in the National Assembly, and hopes to get the support of the right to adopt his reform project.
