More than a million people took part in protests across France on Thursday, halting trains and shutting down power generation, against government plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.
The government said a total of 1.12 million people took part in the protests, including 80,000 in a march in Paris, where police clashed briefly with some protesters.
The stoppages are a major test for President Emmanuel Macron, who said Thursday that his pension reform plan, which opinion polls show is widely unpopular, was “fair and responsible” and should have been done. Protesters disagree.
“It’s salaries and pensions that must be raised, not the retirement age,” read a large banner carried by workers that started a protest march in Tours, western France.
“I have to prepare my walking frame when the reforms go through,” said Isabel, a 53-year-old social worker, adding two more years to her job was too difficult.
The turnout was quite a large number, even by French standards, and more than the turnout at the first rally against the previous pension reform in 2019.
More than 2 million took part, said Felipe Martinez, leader of the hardline CGT union. It is common in France that estimates of police and unions vary widely. Either way, the vote is a success for the union, political analysts say.
Police briefly fired tear gas at the edge of the Paris protests as black-clad, masked men threw missiles at their lines. About 30 people were arrested, police said.
The government has said that pension reform is essential to ensure that the system is not eroded Pushing back the retirement age by two years and extending the pay-in period would bring in an additional 17.7 billion euros ($19.1 billion) in annual pension contributions, allowing the system to break even by 2027, according to Labor Ministry estimates.
Unions argue that there are other ways to ensure the pension system works, such as taxing the super-rich or employers’ contributions or contributions from wealthy pensioners.
In Nice, southern France and elsewhere, banners read: “No to reform.”
“This problem can be solved in a different way, through taxation. Workers should not have to pay for public sector deficits,” said Laurent Berger, leader of France’s largest labor union, the CFDT.
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