The new day of general strike called in France by all trade unions, coinciding with Labor Day, should center around 100,000 people in the streets of Paris, according to authorities.
According to the announcement of the union of trade unions that has been maintaining an “iron arm” with the government for months on the law aimed at raising the retirement age to 64, already issued by President Emmanuel Macron, the French will take to the streets “with a spirit of vengeance” to a “historic mobilization”.
Without much anticipation of a presidential pullback on pension reform, this protest comes two days before the Constitutional Council reviews a second request for a shared initiative referendum on this bill.
This is the first time in many years that all French trade unions have issued a collective call to demonstrate, with demonstrations planned across France..
The authorities, who are preparing security measures for the protests, predict that about 100,000 people will be on the streets of Paris.
To prevent the violence and fires of recent weeks on the sidelines of the protests, the National Police will deploy 12,000 troops to the demonstrations and there will be about 5,000 in Paris.
Authorities say the protesters could include between 1,000 and 2,000 violent elements, such as members of the ‘black blocs’, who could disrupt Labor Day celebrations.
Commercial establishments around the streets where the processions will pass were advised to remain closed, so as not to suffer any form of destruction.
To keep up political pressure in the coming days, unions in the energy sector are preparing protests that could lead to blackouts in some areas.
“Red card” for Macron
According to an opinion poll by the IFOP research group last month, nearly three in four French people are dissatisfied with Macron.
Since mid-January, France has been rocked by a dozen days of nationwide strikes and protests against Macron and his pension changes, some of which have turned quite violent.
However, the momentum has diminished with recent strikes and demonstrations held during the working week as workers appear unwilling to continue sacrificing wages.
During the protests in recent weeks, protesters used kitchen utensils to drown out Macron during a speech following the passage of the retirement age law last month.
Close to the Stade de France stadium, on the outskirts of Paris, some union activists handed out red cards and whistles to football fans coming to watch the Coupe de France final this Saturday.
“A red card for retirement at the age of 64,” it read before the game began in which Toulouse beat Nantes.
Security took up most of the whistles as supporters entered the stadium and not many protests were heard at the scheduled kick-off time of 49 minutes and 30 seconds.
This time was a reference to the controversial Article 49.3 of the constitution, which Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne invoked in March to push pension reform through parliament without a vote in the lower house.
Source: DN
