France was rocked by nationwide strikes on Tuesday, with public transport, schools, and critical power, oil, and gas supplies all impacted. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in cities such as Paris, Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse, and Nice to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s planned pension reforms. The demonstrations came just a day after French lawmakers began debating a bill to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64.
Protesters in Paris, many of them young, marched peacefully with signs reading “Save Your Pension” and “Tax Billionaires, Not Grandmas.” One media worker, 29-year-old Anissa Saudemont, spoke against the reforms, saying, “I feel that with high inflation, unemployment, the war in Ukraine, and climate change, the government should focus on something else.”
Last week, an estimated 1.27 million people participated in the protests, with even more demonstrations planned for this Saturday. Train services across the country, including international lines to Britain and Switzerland, were severely impacted, and the Paris metro was also disrupted. Some power supplies were temporarily reduced but did not result in blackouts.
The Education Ministry reported that nearly 13% of teachers went on strike, a decrease compared to the previous week’s protests. However, President Macron has vowed to proceed with the reforms despite growing opposition, arguing that the changes are necessary to keep the pension system financially stable. France’s aging population is expected to create a deficit in the next decade.
The parliamentary debate at the National Assembly and Senate is expected to last several weeks, with opposition lawmakers proposing over 20,000 amendments to the bill. Union leaders, such as Philippe Martinez of the powerful CGT union and Laurent Berger of the CFDT union, have called on the government to listen to the people.
The pension plan has caused a heated debate, with the speaker of the National Assembly reporting threats, anonymous voicemails, graffiti, and even a threatening letter to the head of the chamber’s Social Affairs Committee. Lawmakers from the far-right National Rally party also received voicemails during Monday’s debate claiming loved ones were hospitalized.
