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Egypt Independent
The Eiffel Tower shut down on Thursday, France’s high-speed trains stood still and teachers walked off their schools, as trade unions launched nationwide strikes protesting against the government plans to overhaul the retirement pension system.
Paris authorities barricaded the presidential palace and deployed 6,000 police for what is seen as a major demonstrationin the capital; an outpouring of anger at President Emmanuel Macron for his centrepiece reform, seen as threatening the hard-fought French way of life.
The Louvre Museum and other sites warned of strike disruptions and Paris hotels struggled to fill rooms. Many visitors, including the U.S. energy secretary, canceled plans to travel to one of the world’s most-visited countries amid the strike.
Metro stations across Paris are shut, complicating traffic and prompting many commuters to use shared bikes or electric scooters instead. Many workers in the Paris region worked from home or took a day off to stay with their children, since 78% of teachers in the capital were on strike.
Bracing themselves for possible violence and damage along the route of the Paris march, police ordered all businesses, cafes and restaurants in the area to close. Authorities issued a ban on protests on the Champs-Elysees avenue, around the presidential palace, parliament and Notre Dame Cathedral.
Yellow vest activists planned to join unions at the protests in Paris and cities around the country; pressing their campaign for more economic justice.
The big question is how long the strike will last. Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne said she expects the travel troubles to be just as bad on Friday.
Unions say, “it’s an indefinite movement” and “hope to keep up momentum at least for one week, in the hope of forcing the government to make concessions”.
Public sector workers fear Macron’s reform will force them to work longer hours and shrink their pension. They see this fight as crucial to saving France’s social safety net.
“The five weeks of paid vacation, the state health care system — we got all that through social struggle by people who sacrificed themselves financially for us to get that”, said rail worker Gilles Pierre; a participant in Thursday’s march.
Pierre, who is 41 and according to the current system can retire at 52, acknowledges that “the current system is generous, but argues that it’s fair compensation for the constraints that go with jobs like his; working on weekends and holidays”.
To Macron, the retirement reform is central to his plan to transform France; so it can compete globally in the 21st century. The government argues France’s 42 retirement systems need streamlining.
After extensive meetings with workers, the high commissioner for pensions is expected to detail reform proposals next week. The French prime minister will release the government’s plan days after that.
