The national secretary of the French Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, urged this Saturday “one million” French “to take to the streets” on January 19, the first day of union and political mobilization against the pension reform.
“Public, private, young, retired, we all have to go out en masse (…) Let’s be 1 million to break into the street. Only this meeting counts,” Fabien Roussel declared in the Journal du Sunday.
“Establishing a balance of power”
In a meeting in Toulouse, the deputy LFI Clémentine Autain also considered that on January 19 it is necessary to “put the package”. “That’s when we establish the balance of power.”
“The higher we start, the more obviously the increase in power will be strong,” he insisted to AFP.
The head of the CGT, Philippe Martínez, also expects “millions” of French people to mobilize on January 19.
Fabien Roussel has once again proposed submitting the pension reform to a referendum instead of a vote in Parliament. “We want a real debate on progressive pension reform. People must be fully involved.”
Mobilization scheduled for next Thursday
“A referendum is six months of campaigning. What can be more democratic than having a debate in factories, universities, the media, project against project?”, stressed the deputy.
The government plan aims to gradually raise the retirement age to 64, from the current 62, while accelerating the extension of the contribution period.
The main unions, unanimously opposed to this reform, will mobilize next Thursday for the first day of strikes and demonstrations. The entire left has called to join the protest.
In recent weeks, “Emmanuel Macron has organized a mock consultation: the changes made to the initial project do not detract from its brutality for millions of employees. It is he who chooses the weapons,” lamented Fabien Roussel.
Source: BFM TV
