Emmanuel Macron will hold his breath today to prevent a parliamentary defeat for the pension reform causing the National Assembly to be dissolved and an election with a more than uncertain result for him and his party. Any tourist who goes to the French capital these days will witness a shameful spectacle with garbage accumulated for more than nine days and with rats running up and down. As our correspondent in Paris, Eusebio Val, explains, the strikers have the support of the mayor, the socialist Anne Hidalgo, who supports them in their claim and avoids looking for alternatives to alleviate this deplorable situation for public health.
As already happened in the revolt of the yellow vests, the French unions have a great capacity for mobilization and it seems that the employed French are more than elsewhere in Europe. We are talking about a pension reform that aims to delay the retirement age from 62 to 64, and it seems that with this measure the world is ending for the French. Yesterday was the eighth day of mobilization and today we will leave doubts with the vote on the controversial reform in the French Parliament.
While Macron is counting the votes, in Spain the Government of Pedro Sánchez has called an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers to approve his pension reform, which, yes, has the support of the unions. Yesterday the agreement was closed which means an increase in the minimum pension of 22% in four years, until it reaches 16,500 euros in 2027. Minister José Luis Escrivá has obtained the endorsement of the European Commission, however, instead , faces opposition from employers and the Popular Party.
The visceral nature of the protests in France is surprising, as the rise of the most extremist parties, both on the right and the left, has long attracted attention, while the more centered positions of the traditional parties, socialist or conservative, are they have collapsed France, cradle of several revolutions, today makes its angry voice heard against a Government that is increasingly against the ropes. Today, it is played.
