Tuesday, January 07, 2020

France in flames as furious Macron strikers block Lyon station with huge blaze

EMMANUEL MACRON was sent another warning by protestors in Gare de Lyon as they lit a huge fire in the road ahead of further protests against France’s pension reforms.

By CLAIRE ANDERSON






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President Emmanuel Macron has angered workers with unpopular pension reforms which require people to work until 64 in order to qualify for a full pension – two years past the official retirement age. The public outrage has resulted in the biggest strike in decades in France shutting down public transport services. Numerous train lines, especially in Paris, have been seriously disrupted as a result of the strikes.
Recent footage on Twitter has shown protestors sparking a large bonfire in the huge train station as one protestor walked around with a lit flare.
Unions are trying to force the former investment banker to abandon his plans, with nationwide strikes since December 5, making them the longest in the country since the upheaval of 1968.
Mr Macron said in the prime-time televised address to the nation: “The retirement reform that I’ve committed myself to before you will be carried through because it is a project of social justice and progress."
He also stressed his belief that a compromise with unions would be found.
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Macron was sent another warning by protestors in Gare de Lyon (Image: Twitter @TeleiaLuttes)
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President Emmanuel Macron has angered workers with unpopular pension reforms (Image: Twitter @TeleiaLuttes)
But French trade union chief CGT leader Philippe Martinez reacted with fury, telling broadcaster BFM: “I was under the impression of having heard these words a thousand times.
“I still do not see anything new in the government’s position.
“The alarm signal needs to be louder, we need strikes everywhere.”
Nevertheless, he said his organisation would be among those meeting with government officials on January 7.

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The public outrage has resulted in the biggest strike in decades in France (Image: Twitter @TeleiaLuttes)

Paris: Firefighters tackle blaze at yellow vest protest


On January 4 French police fired tear gas in low-level clashes in the centre of Paris with demonstrators protesting government plans to overhaul the country's pension system.
Police briefly used the tear gas in the city's Bastille area and at the Gare de l'Est railway station after demonstrators, who were joined by "Yellow Vests" anti-government activists, tried to enter the station complex.
Mr Macron has said reforms are essential to simplify the current convoluted pensions system, but his opponents say they will result in many French people having to work for longer.
"People have to think a bit about what kind of society they want in general and, on a more personal level, whether you're 20, 30, 40 or 50, one day you'll retire," said Jean-Gabriel Maheo, an industrial technician who said he was in his fifties.
"If the currently proposed system passes in the way it is laid out, it will be a social catastrophe. Already, the previous reforms are seeing people retire with measly pensions," added Maheo, as he took part in the Paris demonstration on Saturday.
Much of France has been crippled by a national transport strike since the anti-pensions protest first began in early December. Another big nationwide demonstration is due to take place on January 9.

Emmanuel Macron pension crisis: President accused of ripping apart France’s social fabric

EMMANUEL MACRON has been accused of ripping apart France's social fabric as the President intends to continue to push forward with his pension reform plans. The government’s plan to merge the country’s 42 pension schemes into a single, points-based system has been rejected by union leaders and sparked crippling transport strikes.

By ROMINA MCGUINNESS

Emmanuel Macron should ‘withdraw reform’ says Fabien Roussel


French MEP Jordan Bardella, the vice-president of the rightwing National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen, accused Emmanuel Macron on Sunday of destroying the country’s “social heritage” as he slammed the president’s “unfair” pension reform plans. “Emmanuel Macron is unravelling our social heritage,” M Bardella said in a joint interview with RTL radio, LCI television and Le Figaro daily, before calling for a referendum on the controversial reform.

The president “is not interested in protecting the interests of the French,” the rightwing politician continued.
M Bardella added: “The government is forcing through a project that has been rejected by the French.”
He also described the pension reform as “extremely unfair”.
“The French have understood that the pension overhaul is unjustified, unfair and will force people to work longer for less,” he wrote on Twitter later in the day.  
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Emmanuel Macron hascome under criticism for his pension reforms (Image: Getty)
Crippling transport strikes against the pension changes have been ongoing since December 5, upsetting travel plans and hitting shops and businesses over the key Christmas period.
But a new poll by Ifop published Sunday in Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD) newspaper showed that 44 percent of French people still support the strike action.
Labour leaders have, for their part, urged citizens to take part in fresh mass demonstrations against the pension reform on January 9.
M Macron insists that his reforms are needed to simplify the costly and convoluted pension system, but his opponents and unions argue they will force scores of French people to work for longer and reduce benefits.
The government wants to merge the country’s 42 separate pension schemes into a single, points-based system under which for each euro contributed, every pensioner would have equal rights.
The reform would also set a “pivot age” of 64 at which retirees would benefit from a full pension, though they could still legally leave at 62 – the official retirement age, a change unionists are fiercely opposed to.
Unions have threatened to step up their protests unless M Macron withdraws the reform.
But the centrist government has stood its ground and repeatedly rejected calls to drop the reform altogether.  
M Macron vowed last week to press ahead with his overhaul of the pension system despite the nationwide strikes.
In a televised address on New Year’s Eve, he said: “The retirement reform that I’ve committed myself to before you will be carried through because it is a project of social justice and progress.”
M Macron added that he expected his government to quickly find a compromise with union leaders on the reform, but without departing from the principles laid out by ministers.
His speech was slammed by the leader of CGT union Philippe Martinez, who said he “did not see anything new in the government’s position”.
“The alarm signal needs to be louder. We need strikes everywhere,” M Martinez told the news channel BFM TV.  
• The Ifop poll of 1,005 people aged 18 and over was conducted online on January 2-3.  

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