(Paris) Opponents of the pension reform wanted by President Emmanuel Macron intend to express their anger during the weekend, with new rallies and strikes in France, which is plunged into a political crisis after the forced passage of the ‘executive.
Two motions of censure were tabled on Friday against the government, which assumed its responsibility the day before via article 49.3 of the Constitution which allows the adoption of a text without a vote, except in the event of censure.
The inter-union called for rallies on Saturday and Sunday, as well as a 9th day of strikes and demonstrations on Thursday against this decried reform which notably provides for the postponement of the retirement age from 62 to 64 years old.
At least two refineries, that of PetroIneos in Lavéra (South-East) and that of TotalEnergies in Gonfreville-l’Orcher (North-Uuest), could be shut down by Monday at the latest, according to the CGT union. Until now, strikers have blocked fuel shipments.
French Minister of Industry Roland Lescure hinted on Saturday that the government could make requisitions in the event of the shutdown of these facilities.
Asked about a risk of fuel shortage, the minister replied on France Info radio: “We showed in the fall that we knew how to take our responsibilities there again, we will take them”, in reference to the requisitions then taken to unblock oil sites during wage strikes.
He said such measures were “being rolled out” with garbage collectors in the capital, where 10,000 tonnes of trash are piling up on the sidewalks, according to the town hall.
Gatherings are planned throughout the weekend: Place d’Italie in Paris, in the second French city Marseille but also in Brest (West), Toulon, Montpellier (South-East)… Not to mention the spontaneous gatherings which can leave fear overflows.
Thus, Thursday and Friday evening, thousands of people gathered at Place de la Concorde in Paris, a few hundred meters from the National Assembly and the presidential palace of the Élysée.
The opposition to the reform took a more radical turn there on Friday evening, carried by young activists tired of the weekly processions and ready to do battle.
Hundreds of people clashed with the police in small groups, throwing projectiles. According to the police headquarters, 61 people were arrested.
“We had good days of strikes, but now we need an offensive movement”, had previously summarized Jean, a student who kept his last name.
In Lyon (Centre-Est), protesters burst into a district town hall and “tried to set the fire”, but the police quickly extinguished the fire and arrested 36 people, according to the prefecture.
Other demonstrations took place in peace, as in Lille (North).
“We have the impression that it is no longer a democracy, we wonder what the deputies are for”, explained Muriel Bruneau, 56 years old. “I see guys in Belgium who get into their truck at 68, they can’t load it anymore. It raises security issues,” added her husband Dany.
No-confidence motions are due to be considered in the National Assembly on Monday starting at 4 p.m. (11 a.m. Eastern Time), according to parliamentary sources.
The deputies of a centrist independent parliamentary group (LIOT) announced the tabling of a “transpartisan” motion of censure of the government, co-signed by elected representatives of the radical left (NUPES). The motion castigates “the height of an unacceptable denial of democracy.”
Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (far right) also tabled a motion of no confidence, stressing that it would vote for all motions presented.
To bring down the government, a motion must receive an absolute majority in the Assembly, or 287 votes. This would require in particular that around thirty right-wing deputies Les Républicains (out of 61) vote for the motion of the LIOT group.
On Friday, the secretary general of the reformist union CFDT, Laurent Berger, again warned of the growing anger in the country and called on the French president to “withdraw the reform”.
The government has chosen to raise the retirement age to respond to the financial deterioration of pension funds and the aging of the population.
France is one of the European countries where the legal retirement age is the lowest, even if the pension systems are not completely comparable.
