This Tuesday, March 7 saw one of the largest interprofessional mobilizations against the pension reform since the start of the social conflict: 3.5 million demonstrators walked the cobblestones throughout France according to figures from the CGT . According to the Ministry of the Interior, they were 1.8 million, as reported by our colleagues from Le Monde. In addition to the processions having seized the arteries of many cities in France, blocking actions were also recorded: occupied roundabouts, blockages of fuel shipments or even power cuts were part of the game.
The strikes in several sectors have been renewed, in particular that of transport. The next day, International Day of Struggle for Women’s Rights, was an opportunity to continue the demonstrations, emphasizing the retrograde consequences of the reform on the precariousness of women in the world of work.
Faced with a growing social movement, the executive’s strategy remains unmoved: neither President Emmanuel Macron nor Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne spoke out after the pivotal day that was the historic mobilization of March 7. The objective of the unions is very clear: to strike until the reform is completely withdrawn. Philippe Martinez, secretary general of the CGT, addressed the government shortly before the departure of the procession on Tuesday March 7: “We cannot be deaf to this social movement”, he said according to our colleagues from ‘West France.
In parallel with the mobilizations, this Wednesday evening, March 8, the famous article 7 relating to the decline in the legal retirement age was adopted by the Senate. The vote of the Republican senators was, unsurprisingly, the lever allowing the majority to win. There are therefore 4 days left for the senators to examine and adopt the 13 remaining articles. A new day of mobilization was announced by the inter-union for this Saturday, March 11, and another again for the 15th of the month, the date of the joint joint commission.
Below, you can find the list of all communications made by members of the executive that have been qualified as, at best, unclear and misleading or, at worst, misleading.
