The protests in France against the pension reform come to an end? “No”, the union leaders respond, although the mobilizations lose some steam. Between a million and a half peopleaccording to the unions, and 380,000, according to the policedemonstrated this Thursday against the rise in the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 years old (with 43 years of contributions to receive a full pension). The 12th day of strikes and protests against this unpopular measure —the 10th under the legal framework of a general strike— was marked by a setback in the mobilization and took place the eve of the pronouncement of the Constitutional Council.
All eyes in France are on the sentence this Friday of the Gallic equivalent of the Constitutional Court. The sages (wise) must decide whether to validate the measure or censor it partially or totally. It is unknown where the shots of his decision will go. Never has a sentence from this body, made up of a mixture of veteran magistrates and politicians, generated so much media expectation in the neighboring country. Not that it was the series ‘Baron Noir’, in which the Constitutional has a fundamental weight in one of the chapters of this sometimes premonitory fiction of what happens in French politics.
Eyes on the Constitutional
“Be wise, censor!”, affirmed a banner displayed this Thursday in front of the Constitutional, whose headquarters are located practically opposite the Louvre Museum, in the center of Paris. Militants from the SUD union and from the alter-globalization collective ATTAC accumulated garbage containers in front of that building in a peaceful action carried out during the morning. This 12th day of mobilizations coincided with the beginning of a new unlimited strike by the garbage collectors in the French capital. However, it is unknown if this time it will have as important a follow-up as in March, when more than 10,000 tons of waste accumulated in the Parisian streets after almost 20 days of work stoppage by these essential workers.
“The decision of the Constitutional Court will mark the end of a chapter, but not of the book. (…) The trade union fight is far from over,” said moderate trade unionist Laurent Berger, general secretary of the CFDT – the union with the largest number of affiliates in France -, from the front rows of the demonstration in Paris.
Between 400,000 people, according to the workers’ organizations, and 42,000, according to the security forces, protested on the Parisian boulevards in a procession that was divided into two routes. One of them passed in front of the Constitutional, protected by a extensive police device. Despite some clashes between riot police and protesters on the Place de la Bastille, the protests were mostly festive and peaceful. The unrest they turned out to be less relevant than at the end of March.
“I am afraid that he will not censor the measure”
Despite the fatigue after almost three months of protests and the fact that this 12th mobilization was one of the least crowded of the current wave —the most massive in the 21st century in the bustling neighboring country—, the data on protesters this Thursday (between more than one million and 380,000 people) are not negligible. In fact, they are far superior to the largest day of protests during the yellow vest revolt in 2018 and most of the demonstrations in 2019 against another attempt by Macron to reform the French pension system, one of the most advanced in the Old Continent and that guarantees a lower percentage of poor older people.
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“The protests are waning, but this is because people cannot give up a day’s salary every week,” acknowledged Anne des Sables, 59, a computer scientist present in the Parisian procession, in statements to EL PERIÓDICO. “I fear that the Constitutional will not censor the measure, only some of its articles, and will maintain the rise in the minimum retirement age,” added this militant from the CFE-CGC union.
“His decision on the referendum will also be important,” recalled Caroline, 27, a young civil servant present at the demonstration. She mentioned the referendum initiative on which the Constitutional Court must also rule. Although the ‘wise men’ validate it, this possible consultation will have to travel a long and tortuous road before becoming a reality. Its eventual celebration in 2024 or 2025 is unlikely.