French union members and striking incinerator workers block the entrance to the plant to protest against a pension reform law in Ivry-sur-Seine, on the outskirts of Paris. YOAN VALAT | EFE
Macron’s government, ready to talk to unions, but not on pension reform
Minister of Internal AffairsGerard Darmanin, announced an “unprecedented commitment” of police and gendarmes to maintain security on Tuesday at various protests across France, particularly in Paris, against the pension reform. They will be total 13,000 members of the security forcesof which 5,500 will be distributed in the capital.
The number of soldiers has been increasing in recent days to respond to a rise in violence that has occurred since pension reform was approved following the failure of a no-confidence vote against the government, as well as a fierce battle organized this weekend between radical groups of the far left and the gendarmerie around the construction of a water reservoir in the Deux-Sèvres department, which, according to law enforcement, will mobilize many young people this Tuesday.
Dialogue yes, but not about reform
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron insists that “we must continue to lend a hand to the union forces”, according to what he said this Monday during a meeting with the main members of the government and the leaders of the parties that make up the presidential majority. But the hand he extends is to discuss topics such as conditions of certain jobs, i.e. usury of certain professions, but in no case about the pension reform that was approved for Macron after the failure of the vote of no confidence, and only in the absence of the approval of the Constitutional Council.
At the same time, the Government is in a difficult situation, because they failed to break the union’s unity against the pension reform, and now they face the additional difficulties of a climate of violence imposed by small groups joining the protests.
This weekend, Macron’s right-hand man, Alexis Kohler, the general secretary of Elisha, the so-called Laurent Berger, general secretary of the reformist trade union CFDT, to “exchange opinions on the environment”. Berger’s answer did not deviate from what he has repeated in recent days: Macron “must say yes [la jubilación a] 64 years will not apply.
This Tuesday, the tenth day of the strike against the reform, severe disruptions in traffic are expected, while blockades like Monday continue in incinerators and refineries, i.e. the Louvre museum where a group of workers blocked the access door, preventing the entry of the 30,000 visitors that the art gallery receives daily.
Source: La Vozde Galicia
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
