Macron Emerges Victorious in the Pension Battle: Post-Ninth Strike Implications

How will the political situation develop? in France in the coming days, against the background of the approval without a vote by the representatives of the pension reform law under Article 49.3 of the Constitution? Will the demonstrations and protests continue until the new law is withdrawn or President Emmanuel Macron joins it with the pretext that is necessary? And does the Chamber confirm the constitutional provision for working with this text that the trade unions reject?. Although opposition parties to Elizabeth Bourne’s government failed to vote of no confidence on Monday after they passed the Pension Reform Law using Article 49.3 of the Constitution, that does not mean that the battle to overthrow this age-raising law pensionable age from 62 to 64 is over.

On Thursday, the unions and the political opposition staged a new day of protest, to put pressure on Emmanuel Macron and urge him to withdraw the controversial law.

According to the police, up to 800,000 people are expected to get off in square in the cities of the country. And after French President Emmanuel Macron’s televised speech on Wednesday, which according to the unions “didn’t calm anything down”, protests came on Thursday, going so far as to disrupt traffic and trains and close schools, and workers, angry about the An increase in pensions on Thursday closed the road to one of the terminals at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, forcing some travelers to walk there, a spokesman for the Society of Paris Airports said: The protest near Terminal 1 of Charles de Gaulle airport did not affect the flights.

Rail services have been disrupted, some schools have been closed, rubbish has piled up in the streets and electricity generation has been disrupted as unions have stepped up pressure on the government to withdraw a law extending the retirement age by two years at 64 years old.

Plumes of smoke have been seen rising from piles of debris in blazes that blocked traffic on a motorway near Toulouse in the south-west of the country, and the strikes also temporarily closed the roads in other cities. Macron estimated, during a television interview on the “TF1” and “France 2” channels, that the controversial reform “will be implemented by the end of the year”, deeming it “necessary”, amid the escalation of social anger.

And the French president acknowledged his “failure to convince the people of the need for this reform”, repeating the arguments presented by his presidential side since the government approved the draft amendment to the pension system without a vote in Parliament.

The 35-minute interview angered the opposition and the trade unions. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Macron was “an increasingly isolated man who comforted” the French with the idea of ​​his “contempt” for them. Even the leader of the radical left “France Proud” Jean-Luc Melenchon denounced the “traditional signs of contempt” and the “arrogance” of Macron, who “lives far from reality”.

“(Macron) is in absolute denial,” Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure told the National Assembly, adding: “I fear it has stoked a very burning fire.” Since the government passed the bill without a vote in Parliament, protests continue in across France and spontaneous demonstrations erupt, sometimes punctuated by tensions with the police.

Tuesday evening in 128 people were arrested in France, bringing the number arrested since Thursday to nearly 1,000. Amnesty International said Wednesday in guard against the “excessive use of force and arbitrary arrests” that occurred during the demonstrations, calling on the authorities to “guarantee the safety of the demonstrators”.

Amnesty International has condemned “the arbitrary use of batons”, noting that “several media documented the massive use of tear gas directly against peaceful demonstrators to disperse demonstrations without the possibility of systematic dispersal,” and added: “After January 19 During the mobilization, one of the protesters had to remove a testicle after being beaten with a truncheon between his legs, although he posed no threat to safety.

These demonstrations represent the latest wave of protests and the biggest challenge to President Macron’s authority since the ‘yellow vests’ movement four years ago, as opinion polls have shown a majority of French people oppose the pension law , as well as the government’s decision to pass under the dome of the National Assembly (Parliament) without a vote.