After successfully participating in yesterday’s mobilizations, the unions have called on citizens to “keep fighting”. For his part, Macron reiterated his intention to proceed with the reform aimed at extending the minimum retirement age to 64.
Euskaraz irakurri: Urtarrilaren 31rako beste greba bat deitu dute dute Ipar Euskal Herrian et Frantzian, pension erreformaren aurka
Yesterday, Iparralde and the entire French state experienced the first big day of protests against the pension reform tabled by the government in charge Emmanuel Macron. With massive strikes and street demonstrations, hundreds of thousands of people supported the call for mobilization by all trade unions. According to the organizers, the march in Baiona brought together more than 10,000 people and that in Paris more than 400,000. Likewise, the strike was widely followed in transportation services across the state and in public schools. So, given the success of the call, the unions announced another mobilization day for January 31.
According to CFDT representative Jean-Pierre Etxeberri, the pension reform is “unacceptable” and “every effort should be made to withdraw it”. Similarly, Argitxu Dufau of LAB sharply criticized the fact that the French government intends to implement the reform “without discussing it with the workers beforehand”. “They are ready to put the law into effect without debate, but they will face a very determined working class. Today is the first test,” he stressed.
The aim of the unions is that yesterday’s mass mobilization is the beginning of major mobilizations forcing the executive to withdraw, just as they achieved in 1995 when a pension reform project with conservative president Jacques Chirac was withdrawn by intense pressure from the streets, despite the government’s absolute majority in parliament.
However, despite the strong popular rejection, Macron was once again determined to go ahead with his plan. In a media appearance in Barcelona, he defended that the pension reform completed by his executive is “fair and responsible” and warned that the country in Europe as a whole has “slowed back” on this issue.
The government proposal aims to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 and to bring forward the increase from 42 to 43 contribution years to 2027 in order to allow for full retirement (so far planned for 2035). The French Council of Ministers plans to approve the project next week.
.
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.8”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
