From LVMH to the cimetrization of Paris: protests against the pension system and the president’s call for a change
Some protesters in Paris forced their way into the headquarters of luxury giant LVMH, with one union leader telling CNN, “if Macron wants to find money to finance the pension system, he should come here to find it.”
Fabien Villedieu, the union leader, told CNN that if there is money to be found for the pension system, it should be found here.
Protesters may hit out against capitalist signs, as the Paris police chief warned on French radio.
The changes to the pension system have caused massive protests in France this year. The police have clashed with protesters.
The country must continue to move forward, because the reforms are essential to rein in public finances, said the president this week.
Speaking at an incinerator picket line near Paris on Thursday morning, Sophie Binet, the new head of the GGT, one of France’s main unions, insisted: “As long as the pension reform is not withdrawn, the mobilization will continue one way or another.”
“On the eve of the decision of the constitutional council, I am once again supporting the mobilisations in Paris and everywhere in France,” Hidalgo tweeted.
Friday’s ruling will be decisive on whether the protests will continue. The other main union in France, the CFDT, is more willing to negotiate a settlement.
Observation of the CGT Union Strikes in Paris: The Crime against the Constitution at the Severe Macron-Parisi Courage
The CGT union said that garbage will be filling the streets of Paris once more because of the strike.
Heightened security is in place in the French capital Paris as the country braces for a crucial ruling on the constitutionality of divisive changes to France’s pension system.
The retirement age was approved by France’s Constitutional Council on Friday in a victory for the President after months of protests damaged his leadership.
The police operation to protect the court is unprecedented according to an expert. As far back as I can remember, I’ve never seen images like this before.
Sweeping protests have paralyzed major services across the country this year over French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal, a move that has also riled opposition lawmakers and unions. Uncollected garbage has mounted in the streets of Paris.
The French Pension Reform Crisis After the Preliminary French Referendum: Anarchy, Opposition, and the Council’s Votes
There are several possible outcomes to Friday’s ruling. If the law is green-lit, it will go into effect in September. The first retirees will be put off getting their pensions for three months. The retirement age will be reached by 2030 with regular increases.
If the court finds that the law in unconstitutional, it cannot be enacted. It is unlikely that this would be a political earthquake for Macron, as the government used constitutional powers to push through the legislation.
Twelve days in a row there have been nationwide protests against the proposals. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets but the interior ministry’s turnout figure – 380,000 – is nearly 200,000 less than the previous round of protests.
Pension reform in France, where the right to retire on a full pension at 62 is deeply cherished, is always a highly sensitive issue and even more so in recent months with social discontent mounting over the surging cost of living.
The retirement age is between 66 and 67 in the United States and the United Kingdom. There is legislation that says there will be a further rise from 67 to 68 in Britain between 2044 and 2046 but the timing is being reviewed.
The higher age was part of the plan and the target of protesters’ anger, but the council rejected some measures in the bill. The reform is needed to keep the pension system afloat as the population ages and opponents proposed raising taxes on the wealthy or employers, which the government disagreed with.
The final approval of the pension reforms is a victory for Macron one year into his second presidential term, but the unpopularity of the new law has come at a great political cost with his approval ratings at near-record low levels.
The Constitutional Council turned down a request by opposition lawmakers to have a referendum on the reform. A second request for a referendum on the reform is under consideration.
Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon said the decision shows the council “is more attentive to the needs of the presidential monarchy than to those of the sovereign people” while the far-right’s Marine Le Pen urged those who oppose the changes to vote for her at the next election.
Union leaders have said the Constitutional Council’s decisions would be respected, but have vowed to continue protests in an attempt to get Macron to withdraw the measure.
In a separate but related decision, the council rejected a request by left-wing lawmakers to allow for a possible referendum on enshrining 62 as the maximum official retirement age. The council will rule on a second, similar request, next month.
“We don’t want it”: a rallying cry for protests against the government’s decision on the March 1 Constitutional Convention
“We are protesting for so many weeks and the government didn’t hear us,” she said. “Workers who have gone on strike or protested the legislation since January are fighting for their rights, but nothing changes.”
The Labor unions that were invited to meet with Macron on Tuesday were invited regardless of what the Constitutional Council decision was. On May 1, the unions called for mass protests, noting that he had refused their previous offers of a meeting.
The 12 nationwide protests have been organized by unions, and they played a key role in trying to control excessive reactions by protesters. Violence by pockets of ultra-left radicals have marked the otherwise peaceful nationwide marches.
A group of people chanting “We don’t want it” interrupted the prime minister as she visited a supermarket outside Paris.
The uproar surrounding the government’s decision to get around a vote on the measure in March increased as a result. Another group awaited Borne in the parking lot.
Holding out hope of upending the decision, unions and protesters recalled the 2006 measure that sent students into the streets in a protest over work contracts for youth. That legislation had been pushed through parliament without a vote and given the green light by the Constitutional Council — only to be later scrapped to bring calm to the country.