After the first two mobilizations, which each time attracted more than 1 million demonstrators – according to the police – the movement against the pension reform is entering a crucial period. The eight main labor unions and five youth defense organizations have decided to step up the tempo, through two new days of action very close together, Tuesday February 7 and Saturday February 11 – while the previous ones were spaced almost two weeks apart. .
The coalition recognized it, a few hours before the processions set off on Tuesday: the probability was great that the crowd would not reach the record level recorded on January 31 (1.27 million people in the street). “Two dates in the same week can make people want to focus on the Saturday one, which for most of them does not require going on strike”, explains Laurent Berger. If this scenario is confirmed, the secretary general of the CFDT considers that this should not be seen as a sign of slowing down, because the mobilization should, according to him, prove “Important again on Tuesday, and will probably be even more so on Saturday, in another format, with more families”. To appreciate the vigor of the protesters, “it will be necessary to take the combination of the two days”adds Cyril Chabanier, president of the CFTC.
Several unions were counting on a number of rallies and demonstrations close to that of January 31, proof that the desire to do battle is not diminishing, despite the school holidays in zone A (Bordeaux, Dijon, Lyon, etc.) and the repetition of work stoppages, synonymous with loss of wages, which is beginning to weigh on portfolios.
“Raise the balance of power”
“Since the government does not seem to want to move, except on peripheral issues, the challenge must remain strong, if we want to continue to introduce doubt among the deputies”, said François Hommeril, president of the CFE-CGC, referring to the start of the review of the reform in the National Assembly on Monday. For him, it should ” project oneself “ until the end of the parliamentary debates, scheduled for the second half of March, “without tiring public opinion”. “The strategy of the intersyndicale consists in preserving the support granted to it by an overwhelming majority of French people, says Frédéric Souillot, the leader of FO. This is a decisive advantage in obtaining the withdrawal of the shift in the legal retirement age. » Mr. Berger sees it “the democratic affirmation of a social movement” against which the government has no reproach to make: “There is no violence or blockage, just massive and clear opposition to an unjust measure. »
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