France Still Burning, Unions Vow to Continue Massive Protests Over Retirement Age

Elvis Dunderhoff April 14, 2023


The problem here is, in the worst possible case, Macron just resigns.

That’s the way democracy works.

There is no ability to change anything.

The Guardian:

Emmanuel Macron faces a fresh day of strike action and protests against his unpopular plans to raise France’s minimum pension age from 62 to 64, amid questions over how the government intends to calm public opinion and move ahead if the bill is validated on Friday by the constitutional council.

Just as the president returned from a state visit to the Netherlands, where he was forced to contain the row over his comments on Taiwan, he faced a renewed domestic challenge as hundreds of thousands of people once again demonstrated across France.

After a request by the prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, the constitutional council will make a ruling on whether the legislation is in line with the French constitution. Politicians on the left have also asked it to rule on whether a form of citizens’ referendum could be organised on the pensions changes.

Ministers are privately confident that the council will approve the changes, after the government used an executive order to push them through without a parliamentary vote last month. If so, Macron hopes to sign the new pensions rules into law immediately, so they can come into force before the end of 2023.

The government hopes this will put an end to almost three months of protests, which at times have culminated in violence and running battles with police. The demonstrations have focused a sense of widespread anger against Macron.

Trade unions said anger would remain and protests would continue if the bill was signed in.

Transport and schools were affected by strikes on Thursday, and some Paris bin-collectors resumed the capital’s refuse strike, which had stopped at the end of March after 10,000 tonnes of rubbish piled up. Police expect that between 400,000 and 600,000 people will take part in nationwide protests, which would be less than half of the peak of nearly 1.3 million reached in March.

Although the numbers of people marching has decreased, the key issue for Macron is public opinion. Two-thirds of French people remain opposed to Macron’s raising of the pension age, and 52% want protests to continue even if the constitutional council does approve the pensions law on Friday, according to an Ifop poll for Le Journal du Dimanche.

Macron’s image has been shaken by the protests and once again he is being perceived as cut off from the streets and from people’s everyday concerns.

I’m sure people don’t like Macron.

But they will love a new leader.

Democracy is unworkable.

Everyone always loses.

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