Foreign Affairs

Retired at 64

Tension and clashes in France, 500 thousand in the streets in Paris against the pension reform - video

Over 200 demonstrations throughout the country, another is scheduled for Thursday, February 16 and will be an indefinite strike from March 7 if the reform is not changed

11/02/2023

The union counts 500,000 people in the streets to demonstrate this Saturday in Paris against the pension reform. A figure equivalent to that given by the unions on January 31, above the other two mobilizations (January 19 and last Tuesday). The French TV continues to show crowded streets, with streets blocked by people and flags. Hundreds of demonstrations against pension reform are organized throughout France. After Tuesday's slight decline, the unions hope to recover this Saturday, and to bring to the streets people who have so far been unable to strike.

The reform provides for the postponement of the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 and is strongly supported by President French Emmanuel Macron. Opponents hope for a fourth day of "very popular, very familiar" mobilization with the presence of "people from all walks of life" in the marches.

New strikes are planned for Thursday 16 February. There is a growing mobilization in the regions, where there are fears of radicalization of protests. The student union UNEF announces that this Saturday "120,000 young people" demonstrated throughout France, including 15,000 in Paris. The unions also demand to "stop France", with strikes "in all sectors" from March 7 if the reform is not withdrawn by then.