French Public Sector Workers Strike Over Pension Reforms

The Paris Métro is especially affected by the strike. (Wikimedia Commons)

A huge general strike in France began on December 5. More than 800,000 people around France have been protesting government-planned pension reforms. The protests have interfered with transportation services and closed schools.

The strike, which has been one of the largest strikes in decades, brought together railway workers, teachers, hospital workers, and airline workers who were led by trade unions. The unions argue that the President Emmanuel Macron’s planned pension reforms will result in people working longer than they should or receiving lower pension payments.

In Paris, the strike turned violent: protestors set fire to storage trailers, broke windows and a bush shelter, overturned cars, and lit fires in trash cans. Firefighters responded by putting out these fires, while police unleashed tear gas on some of the protestors.

Police who fired tear gas at protesters in Nantes received a volley of projectiles in return. Protesters carried signs displaying the phrase “Macron Out.” One town hall administrator, a woman named Isabelle Jarrivet, proclaimed that “it’s a matter of life or death for the French social system, which Macron is dismantling.” She cited the “gilets jaunes,” (Yellow Vests) movement as inspiring the protest, saying it “got people thinking and talking more about politics.”

Macron’s office has responded to the protests by saying he is following the events “with calm and determination.” Macron and the government maintain that the pension reforms, which would unify the pension system, are necessary. However, the unions counter that this unification will force millions of workers to continue working past France’s legal retirement age of 62.

The general strike is set to continue, and unions report that they intend to strike until December 9 at the earliest.