{"id":3864,"date":"2023-02-11T15:45:01","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T15:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=3864"},"modified":"2023-02-11T15:48:38","modified_gmt":"2023-02-11T15:48:38","slug":"heavy-prtotests-on-streets-across-france-over-macrons-pension-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/politics\/heavy-prtotests-on-streets-across-france-over-macrons-pension-reforms\/2023\/02\/11\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Heavy prtotests on streets across France over Macron’s pension reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Paris (AFP) After<\/span> a<\/span> three-day<\/span> nationwide<\/span> strike<\/span> early<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> year,<\/span> the<\/span> union<\/span> hopes<\/span> to<\/span> secure<\/span> mass<\/span> participation<\/span> from<\/span> January<\/span> 19,<\/span> when<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> one<\/span> million<\/span> people<\/span> protested<\/span> the<\/span> plan.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Delphine<\/span> Maisonneuve,<\/span> a<\/span> 43-year-old<\/span> nurse,<\/span> told<\/span> Reuters<\/span> news<\/span> agency:<\/span> “If<\/span> you<\/span> can’t<\/span> hear<\/span> what’s<\/span> going<\/span> on<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> street<\/span> and<\/span> you<\/span> can’t<\/span> understand<\/span> what’s<\/span> going<\/span> on<\/span> with<\/span> people,<\/span> at<\/span> some<\/span> point<\/span> there<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> an<\/span> explosion.<\/span> It<\/span> shouldn’t<\/span> be<\/span> surprising,”<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span> Protests<\/span> have<\/span> begun<\/span> in<\/span> Paris.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> French<\/span> have<\/span> spent<\/span> more<\/span> years<\/span> in<\/span> retirement<\/span> than<\/span> any<\/span> OECD<\/span> country,<\/span> and<\/span> polls<\/span> show<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> majority<\/span> are<\/span> reluctant<\/span> to<\/span> retire.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>President<\/span> Emmanuel<\/span> Macron<\/span> has<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> reform<\/span> is<\/span> “essential”<\/span> to<\/span> ensure<\/span> the<\/span> viability<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> pension<\/span> system.<\/span> Early<\/span> estimates<\/span> put<\/span> Paris’<\/span> population<\/span> up<\/span> about<\/span> 20%<\/span> since<\/span> the<\/span> last<\/span> protests<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> Le<\/span> Figaro<\/span> newspaper.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Trade<\/span> unions<\/span> hope<\/span> to<\/span> draw<\/span> large<\/span> crowds<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> weekend<\/span> of<\/span> protests<\/span> since<\/span> the<\/span> movement<\/span> began,<\/span> drawing<\/span> people<\/span> of<\/span> all<\/span> ages<\/span> and<\/span> backgrounds<\/span> to<\/span> show<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> that<\/span> their<\/span> anger<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> reforms<\/span> runs<\/span> deep.<\/span> rice<\/span> field.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>French<\/span> closure<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> a<\/span> joint<\/span> statement<\/span> ahead<\/span> of<\/span> Saturday’s<\/span> demonstrations,<\/span> all<\/span> major<\/span> unions<\/span> called<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> to<\/span> overturn<\/span> the<\/span> law.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>They<\/span> have<\/span> warned<\/span> that<\/span> if<\/span> their<\/span> demands<\/span> are<\/span> not<\/span> met<\/span> they<\/span> will<\/span> try<\/span> to<\/span> suspend<\/span> France<\/span> from<\/span> March<\/span> 7.<\/span> A<\/span> strike<\/span> is<\/span> already<\/span> planned<\/span> for<\/span> him<\/span> in<\/span> February.<\/span> 16<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“If<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> remains<\/span> deaf,<\/span> the<\/span> unions<\/span> will<\/span> demand<\/span> the<\/span> closure<\/span> of<\/span> France,”<\/span> they<\/span> said<\/span> ahead<\/span> of<\/span> Saturday’s<\/span> demonstrations.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> protests<\/span> are<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> weekend<\/span> when<\/span> workers<\/span> don’t<\/span> have<\/span> to<\/span> go<\/span> on<\/span> strike<\/span> or<\/span> take<\/span> vacations.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>You<\/span> are<\/span> following<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> week<\/span> of<\/span> pension<\/span> bill<\/span> debates<\/span> in<\/span> Congress.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Opposition<\/span> parties<\/span> have<\/span> proposed<\/span> thousands<\/span> of<\/span> amendments,<\/span> complicating<\/span> the<\/span> debate<\/span> and<\/span> ultimately<\/span> trying<\/span> to<\/span> force<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> to<\/span> pass<\/span> the<\/span> law<\/span> by<\/span> decree<\/span> without<\/span> a<\/span> parliamentary<\/span> vote,<\/span> a<\/span> move<\/span> that<\/span> could<\/span> jeopardize<\/span> Macron’s<\/span> remaining<\/span> powers.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>Raising<\/span> his<\/span> retirement<\/span> age<\/span> by<\/span> two<\/span> years<\/span> and<\/span> extending<\/span> his<\/span> contribution<\/span> period<\/span> would<\/span> add<\/span> an<\/span> additional<\/span> \u20ac17.7<\/span> billion<\/span> ($19.18<\/span> billion)<\/span> to<\/span> annual<\/span> pension<\/span> contributions,<\/span> pushing<\/span> the<\/span> system<\/span> into<\/span> bankruptcy<\/span> by<\/span> 2027,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Labor<\/span> Department.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Unions<\/span> say<\/span> there<\/span> are<\/span> other<\/span> ways<\/span> to<\/span> do<\/span> this.<\/span> For<\/span> example,<\/span> taxing<\/span> the<\/span> ultra-rich<\/span> or<\/span> asking<\/span> employers<\/span> and<\/span> wealthy<\/span> pensioners<\/span> to<\/span> donate<\/span> more.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cIt<\/span> is<\/span> important<\/span> to<\/span> pay<\/span> attention<\/span> not<\/span> only<\/span> to<\/span> our<\/span> society,<\/span> even<\/span> if<\/span> it<\/span> is<\/span> less<\/span> affected<\/span> [by<\/span> pension<\/span> reforms]<\/span> at<\/span> my<\/span> age,<\/span> but<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> cohesive<\/span> society<\/span> where<\/span> people<\/span> are<\/span> very<\/span> close<\/span> to<\/span> each<\/span> other<\/span> and<\/span> cautious.<\/span> It’s<\/span> not<\/span> just<\/span> about<\/span> people,<\/span> but<\/span> also<\/span> taking<\/span> care<\/span> of<\/span> children,”<\/span> said<\/span> Kamel<\/span> Amriu,<\/span> 65,<\/span> a<\/span> retired<\/span> graphic<\/span> designer.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Paris (AFP) After a three-day nationwide strike early in the year, the union hopes to secure mass participation from January 19, when more than one million people protested the plan. Delphine Maisonneuve, a 43-year-old nurse, told Reuters news agency: “If you can’t hear what’s going on in the street and you can’t understand what’s going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[280,562],"tags":[403,433,578,1022,1063],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/FRB.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3864"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3864"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3868,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3864\/revisions\/3868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}