‘DESPITE the measures taken by the government to try to support the idea that ‘the page on retirement’ is turned, over 1.2 million workers demonstrated in 243 cities against the pension reform’ last Saturday, November 6th, declared the CGT trade union.
The largest march, in Paris, drew about 90,000 people according to the CGT.
Union leaders insisted the protests could yet force Sarkozy to agree amendments to the law before it comes into effect.
While the numbers were down, they ‘should not lessen our determination to act against this law,’ said CGT leader Bernard Thibault, shortly before the Paris march got under way.
A CGT statement said: ‘In the ten weeks since the start of mobilisation, millions of workers have built a multitude of initiatives in companies and communities, and participated in eight days of interprofessional strikes and demonstrations.
‘That in itself is already a movement out of the ordinary.
‘This demonstrates that, despite the end of the parliamentary process and the lies of state broadcast media, employee opinion has not changed.
‘The law is unpopular because it is unjust and inefficient.
‘Employees have understood the consequences would be negative for most of them.
‘Several months are to go before the effective enforcement of the law that will probably be promulgated by the President of the Republic.
‘The action can therefore legitimately continue to prevent the implementation of this anti-social law and obtain the opening of negotiations to consider alternative agreements.
‘The CGT calls without delay for employees to meet at their workplace to discuss and decide on the broader initiatives committee helping to fuel the movement on pensions.
‘The CGT calls at this time on workers to update the specific protests over employment, wages, working conditions . . . to compel employers to open negotiations.
‘Already early successes are recorded in various professional sectors and companies.
‘The CGT, as it always has, will carry the determination of employees to continue the action by offering the Inter 8 November a new inter-day mobilisation in the week from 22 to 26 November.
‘Many organisations have already planned initiatives before it, including November 16 as an intermediate step before a new high nationally.
‘The CGT welcomes the 8500 accessions it has recorded since September 1.
‘It calls all those who show their confidence to engage them as long term in the action by joining the SGC.’
Despite the rain, over a million French protesters flooded into the streets once again to march against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s pension reform.
The bill was passed by the parliament last week.
This was the eighth national one-day strike call in two months against the government’s plans to alter the retirement benefit system in France.
The most significant is an initial increase in the legal age of retirement from 60 to 62, which the government believes will go as high as 67.
Astrid Grant, an actress with the Théâtre du Soleil, was at the demonstration.
She denied government claims that there has been a drop in the strength of the movement.
‘Certainly the energy amongst the people hasn’t changed at all even though we’ve been in a two-week school holiday period,’ Grant said.
‘There are a lot of students here and everyone is just as resilient and resistant to the stubbornness of the government as they have been before.
‘Ultimately this is a fight for social justice that transcends any boundary and any nationality. There’s a sense of solidarity for human justice and that’s why I am here.’
Ministers have said they are ready to talk about some measures to soften the blow of longer years of pension payments for some workers, but President Sarkozy insists raising the minimum pension age is ‘essential’.
Opposition Socialist Party leader Martine Aubrey insisted the protests could still resonate even if their nature might change following passage of the pension bill.
‘The page of this reform has not been turned, it continues to be written,’ said Aubrey, who marched in the northern city of Lille Saturday, where she is mayor.
Force Ouvriere union leader Jean-Claude Mailly, said last Saturday morning: ‘This project has nothing to do with pensions.
‘It is an element of an austerity plan. There is a problem of funding pensions.
‘We say look at avenues for funding. We do not want a review of the text or to amend it. For us, there can be only its abandonment.’
Asked if it is possible to still move the government, Mailly said: ‘To move this government, we need a balance of power very powerful, not as manifestations, although there were many people.
‘It was unique, every time millions of people. There were strikes extendible, blockages.
‘These are the workers who decided and should decide. This government has not moved, except what is not expensive.
‘In this situation, what is the responsibility of a confederate structure? It reiterated yesterday.
‘It needs a call to 24 hours of strike. This has not been the case.
‘When calling a strike that works, you can go to a generalisation of the movement.
‘Around October 12 was the right time. For us, the strategy is not good.
‘There was a refusal of the other seven organisations on the strike call. They decided to do something between 22 and 26 November. But what? Another protest?
‘Do we want to use the employees? For the CFDT trade union federation, it’s over.
‘Us, we will position from Monday. At the same time, we will not forget the pensions issue, we are in no hurry to move to a different topic.’
