Strike action in France enters 36th day as workers refuse to back down

Rail workers, teachers, doctors, lawyers and others have joined a nationwide day of protests and strikes in France to denounce President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to change the country’s pension system. Street protests were staged in Paris and other French cities, with railway strikes entering their sixth week. It was the 36th day of strike action, which Jacobin has called “the longest wave of continuous strikes in contemporary French history”.
As US economist Richard D Wolff explained in December, people in France have united to oppose a worsening in their retirement conditions. As he said:
The mass of the French people are letting the government know they won’t take it.
The government and unions are currently participating in talks about the changes.
The Elysee presidential palace was barricaded as protesters were due to head towards the area.


Read on...
The Eiffel Tower also shut as employees joined the protest movement.
Unions have called on workers to block road access to major ports, including in the southern city of Marseille.


Philippe Martinez, head of the CGT union, said “there are many people on strike” yet the government does not appear “willing to discuss and take into account the opinion of unions”.
So far, the government is sticking to its plan to raise the full retirement age from 62 to 64, the most criticised part of the proposals.


Unions fear people will have to work longer for lower pensions, and polls suggest at least half of French people still support the strikes.
Eric Mettling, who joined the Yellow Vests (Gilets Jaunes) at the start of their movement, said the general strike had brought together social movements across France in a manner unprecedented in recent memory to denounce “the social crisis”. One activist previously told The Canary that the longstanding yellow-vest protests have represented a “deep critique of modern capitalist society”.
Featured image and additional content via Press Association
We need your help to keep speaking the truth
Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.
Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.
We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.
In return, you get:
* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop
Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.
With your help we can continue:
* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do
We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?
-
Show Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Join the conversationPlease read our comment moderation policy here.
They been on strike in France for over a year demonstrating each week end which the BBC is now only telling us about this strike hmmm.
The strike is intensifying as well. You can’t say the BBC runs a news service so one is engaged in the issues of the day.
A nourishing proganda stew like described in George Orwell’s 1984 seems to be on the menu for people who pay into it with fees.
There has to some other place to shop. The Canary!!