The pension reform, the most emblematic project of Emmanuel Macron in his second term at the Élysée, is still up in the air. Yesterday there were demonstrations all over France again against a very unpopular initiative that has given new life to the unions and that places the President of the Republic in an increasingly delicate position because it weakens his political authority.
The figures for participation in the mobilizations are not spectacular –if they are compared, for example, with those in Catalonia during the process or after the terrorist attacks– and vary depending on who makes the calculation, but it is clear that the pressure from the street stays strong. The police estimated yesterday 93,000 people in Paris, while the unions raised it to 500,000. In any case, it would be a record in recent weeks and more actions are announced, such as a massive national strike on March 7 that could be prolonged. Just yesterday, a surprise strike by air traffic controllers forced the suspension of half the flights at Orly airport in Paris.
The Government and the media closely followed the protest marches in small and medium-sized cities. The turnout was remarkable, a barometer of the mood of a peripheral France with a very discontented population that already expressed its anger in the revolt of the yellow vests in 2018 and 2019. They are social sectors with a tendency to high electoral abstention or to vote for extreme right-wing populist options. In the demonstration in Paris there were more disturbances than in the recent calls.
The noisy discontent in the streets and the very harsh tone of the parliamentary debates are disturbing circumstances for the Government. Macron perhaps underestimated the strength of union unity. The strategic alliance between the currently most powerful union, the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT) -of Christian tradition and more pragmatic- and the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), formerly linked to the communists, more radical, which It has lost steam in recent decades, but it continues to wield great influence in key sectors of the economy such as transportation and refining.
The CFDT general secretary, Laurent Berger, is playing a decisive role in the protests, although his CGT counterpart, Philippe Martínez, who is about to retire, is looking for a media presence. The first is younger and less aggressive in tone. The second, with his bushy mustache and his verbal harshness, gives the image of the trade unionist of the 1970s and 1980s. The tandem works.
The delay to 64 years – compared to the current 62 – of the retirement age is not the only reason for complaint. People protest because the contribution period is lengthened and factors such as the hardship of the work or the fact of having started their career very young are not sufficiently taken into account.
Beyond the specific reasons against the reform, those who demonstrate often share the feeling that Macron and his government are acting unfairly, that they are technocrats who only look at the macroeconomic numbers and lack sensitivity. News such as the record profits in 2022 of large companies such as the oil company TotalEnergies have not helped the president.
Macron considers that he has the legitimacy to carry out the reform because it was included in his electoral program and he won the elections. His opponents remind him that his legitimacy is relative because he won with a strong abstention and with many votes borrowed from those who wanted to avoid the victory of the far-right Marine Le Pen at all costs.
The force of the street sows doubts among the Macronista deputies themselves and their eventual allies on the right. Nothing guarantees a favorable vote in the Assembly. Even if the project goes ahead, at least, the wounds will be deep and will leave scars. Laurent Berger warned him in an interview with the weekly L’Obs: “They think they will be calm afterwards. It’s false. The country is on fire.”