Macron faces Labour Day protests as pension reform anger festers
Story by By Richard Lough and Matthieu Protard • May 1,2023
Traditional May Day labour union march in Nantes© Thomson Reuters
By Richard Lough and Matthieu Protard
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron faced nationwide protests on Labour Day on Monday as he struggles to turn the page on a deeply unpopular increase in the retirement age that has unleashed a wave of social unrest.
Traditional May Day labour union march in Nantes© Thomson Reuters
Macron's popularity has plunged to near record lows hit during the "Yellow Vest" crisis after he stared down trade unions and multi-sector strikes and lifted the retirement age by two years to 64.
The move crystallised anger against a president perceived by many as indifferent to their daily hardships and Macron has been met by boos, pot banging and heckles as he confronts citizens on walkabouts.
Unions hope more than 1 million people will march through towns and cities on Monday.
"This May 1st will be a milestone," said Sophie Binet, leader of the hardleft CGT union. "It will serve to say that we will not move on until this (pension) reform is withdrawn."
Laurent Berger, head of the reform-minded CFDT trade union, said Macron's government was deaf to the demands of one of the most powerful social movements in decades. Even so, he said on Sunday that did not mean an end to talks with the government.
Macron says the reform is needed to keep one of the industrialised world's most generous pension systems in the black.
French pension payments as a share of pre-retirement earnings are comfortably higher than elsewhere and a French man typically spends longer in retirement than those in other OECD nations.
But the trade unions say the money can be found elsewhere.
Macron's government, which lacks a working majority in parliament, rammed the pension legislation through without a final vote due to a lack of cross-party support.
A hardening of the political opposition risks complicating the rest of his reform agenda, including an employment bill that would require those receiving the minimum welfare benefit to work or get training for 15-20 hours per week.
Fitch cut France's sovereign credit rating on Friday by one notch to 'AA-', saying a potential political deadlock and social unrest posed risks to Macron's agenda.
(Reporting by Matthieu Protard and Richard Lough; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Story by By Richard Lough and Matthieu Protard • May 1,2023
Traditional May Day labour union march in Nantes© Thomson Reuters
By Richard Lough and Matthieu Protard
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron faced nationwide protests on Labour Day on Monday as he struggles to turn the page on a deeply unpopular increase in the retirement age that has unleashed a wave of social unrest.
Traditional May Day labour union march in Nantes© Thomson Reuters
Macron's popularity has plunged to near record lows hit during the "Yellow Vest" crisis after he stared down trade unions and multi-sector strikes and lifted the retirement age by two years to 64.
The move crystallised anger against a president perceived by many as indifferent to their daily hardships and Macron has been met by boos, pot banging and heckles as he confronts citizens on walkabouts.
Unions hope more than 1 million people will march through towns and cities on Monday.
Related video: Pension reform protest at French football Cup Final (SNTV)Duration 2:09 View on Watch
"This May 1st will be a milestone," said Sophie Binet, leader of the hardleft CGT union. "It will serve to say that we will not move on until this (pension) reform is withdrawn."
Laurent Berger, head of the reform-minded CFDT trade union, said Macron's government was deaf to the demands of one of the most powerful social movements in decades. Even so, he said on Sunday that did not mean an end to talks with the government.
Macron says the reform is needed to keep one of the industrialised world's most generous pension systems in the black.
French pension payments as a share of pre-retirement earnings are comfortably higher than elsewhere and a French man typically spends longer in retirement than those in other OECD nations.
But the trade unions say the money can be found elsewhere.
Macron's government, which lacks a working majority in parliament, rammed the pension legislation through without a final vote due to a lack of cross-party support.
A hardening of the political opposition risks complicating the rest of his reform agenda, including an employment bill that would require those receiving the minimum welfare benefit to work or get training for 15-20 hours per week.
Fitch cut France's sovereign credit rating on Friday by one notch to 'AA-', saying a potential political deadlock and social unrest posed risks to Macron's agenda.
(Reporting by Matthieu Protard and Richard Lough; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Story by AFP •
Some have taken to banging pots and pans during protests against Macron© Philippe LOPEZ
Hundreds of thousands of people on Monday massed in France on labour day to vent their anger against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, with unions vowing not to stop fighting even after the changes were signed into law.
When President Emmanuel Macron attended a football match on Saturday, some activists waved red cards at him in protest© FRANCK FIFE
Unions had been hoping for a vast turnout across France for the May 1 protests to further rattle Macron, who has been greeted by pot-bashing and jeers as he toured the country seeking to defend the reforms and relaunch his second mandate.
Macron last month signed a law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite months of strikes against the bill.
"The law has been passed but has not been accepted, there is a desire to show discontent peacefully to have a reaction in response that shows a certain level of decency," said Celine Bertoni, 37, an academic in the central city of Clermont-Ferrand.
Radical ecological activists sprayed orange paint around the Place Vendome in central Paris, known for its jewellery shops© Alain JOCARD
"I still hope that we are going to be told it will be withdrawn," she added.
"Macron has the impression that as he was elected he has all the power! But I want him to cede his place to the people," added Karine Catteau, 45, in the western city of Rennes.
Police used tear gas in Toulouse in southern France as tensions erupted in the demonstrations© CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
The main march in Paris kicked off at 1200 GMT along the traditional protest route of Place de la Republique to Place de la Nation, with a heavy downpour suddenly beginning at the very moment it started.
Protests in Paris were marked by tensions and a sudden downpour
© Geoffroy Van der Hasselt
Police had been given a last-minute go-ahead to use drones as a security measure after a Paris court rejected a petition from rights groups for them not to be used.
Police used tear gas in Toulouse in southern France as tensions erupted during the demonstrations, while a car was set on fire in the southeastern city of Lyon.
In the western city of Nantes, police also fired tear gas after protesters hurled projectiles, AFP correspondents said. The windows of Uniqlo clothing store were smashed.
Police had been given a last-minute go-ahead to use drones as a security measure after a Paris court rejected a petition from rights groups for them not to be used.
Police used tear gas in Toulouse in southern France as tensions erupted during the demonstrations, while a car was set on fire in the southeastern city of Lyon.
In the western city of Nantes, police also fired tear gas after protesters hurled projectiles, AFP correspondents said. The windows of Uniqlo clothing store were smashed.
Related video: France: Thousands Join Labor Day Protests In Lyon (StringersHub)Duration 0:45 View on Watch
- 'Page not going to be turned' -
Macron and his government have tried to turn the page on the episode of popular discontent, one of the biggest challenges to his second term.
"The page is not going to be turned as long as there is no withdrawal of this pension reform. The determination to win is intact," said the head of the CGT union Sophie Binet at the Paris protest.
"The mobilisation is still very, very strong," added Laurent Berger, head of the CFDT union.
"It is a sign that resentment and anger are not diminishing."
Monday marked the first time since 2009 that all eight of France's main unions have joined in calling for protests.
"This workers' holiday will take place amid union unity and that alone is historic," said Frederic Souillot, the secretary general of the Force Ouvriere (Worker's Force) union.
Radical ecological activists from Extinction Rebellion earlier sprayed orange paint on the facade of the glitzy Fondation Louis Vuitton museum in Paris, which is backed by the LVMH luxury goods giant.
In a separate action by a different environmental protest group, activists sprayed orange paint around the Place Vendome in central Paris, known for its jewellery shops, targeting the facade of the ministry of justice.
- 'Red card' to Macron -
France has been rocked by a dozen days of nationwide strikes and protests against Macron and his pension changes since mid-January, some of which have turned violent.
But momentum has waned at recent strikes and demonstrations held during the working week, as people appear unwilling to continue to sacrifice pay.
When Macron attended the final of the French football cup on Saturday, he was met with activists waving red cards.
Almost three in four French people were unhappy with Macron, a survey by the IFOP polling group found last month.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, with Macron's support, invoked in March the controversial article 49.3 of the constitution to ram the pension reform through parliament without a vote in the hung lower house.
Macron won a second five-year term last year but lost his parliamentary majority in June elections.
Borne last week pledged to cut unemployment and make industry greener as she sought to move on to other affairs of state.
She also postponed any discussion on a controversial immigration bill until the autumn for lack of a parliamentary majority, saying she believed it was not the time for another divisive debate.
Labour unions early last month walked out of talks with Borne after she refused to budge on the pension reform's headline measure of raising the retirement age.
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