This is the eighth national day of action against pension reform.

Nearly two months after the start of the inter-union protest movement, rallies are again planned across France, Wednesday, March 15, against the very controversial government bill on which the deputies must vote this Thursday.

This mobilization coincides with the last day of debates between deputies and senators who must agree on a text within the framework of a joint joint committee (CMP), before a vote in the two chambers the next day.

"A majority exists" hammered on Tuesday the head of government, Elisabeth Borne, who is counting on the support of the Les Républicains (LR) party to avoid a forced passage of the reform through 49.3.

In Paris, the procession will set off at 2 p.m. from Les Invalides in the direction of Place d'Italie while many marches are planned during the day in the region, in Marseille, Lyon, Amiens or even Lille.  

Many sectors have already announced their participation in this eighth day of interprofessional action, marked by disruptions in transport while blockages persist in several refineries and waste incinerators. 

  • RER and transiliens particularly affected

As in previous mobilizations, thousands of public transport users will be affected by strikes in the transport sector.

The RATP has planned more or less significant disruptions on lines 2, 3, 7, 8, 12 and 13 of the metro, and a "very disrupted" RER service with three out of four trains on line E, two out of three trains on line C, one out of two trains on lines A and B and only two out of five, on average, on line D.

On the Transilien side, the situation will also be tense on lines H, J, L (two out of three trains), N (one out of two trains) and R (two out of five) while the trams should not be affected.

Three out of five TGVs on average will be maintained. 

The Minister Delegate for Transport, Clément Beaune, for his part tried to reassure the French, saying that we should not expect a "dark day" in transport while acknowledging the difficulties.

#Strike |

“There will be transport disruptions on Wednesday, but we do not anticipate tensions equivalent to those known during previous mobilizations.

#Les4V pic.twitter.com/ZkDAnbgyp5

– Clement Beaune (@CBaune) March 14, 2023

Air traffic will not be spared either, the USACcgt, the first civil aviation union, having filed a strike notice calling on employees to stop work.

  • The garbage collectors renew the strike

While the garbage has been piling up for several days in several districts of Paris, for lack of collection, the garbage collectors and cleaning agents of the city intend to maintain the pressure on the government.

The latter voted on Tuesday morning to continue the strike "at least until March 20", during a general meeting.  

Three incinerators are currently shut down due to blockages: in Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne), Issy-les-Moulineaux (Hauts-de-Seine) and Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis) , while a fourth, located in Romainville (Seine-Saint-Denis), is saturated.

The Paris City Hall, which manages the collection of household waste in half of the arrondissements, said it was "in solidarity" with the social movement.

Some 6,600 tonnes of waste were recorded in the capital on Wednesday, the 9th day of the strike.  

People walk past uncollected trash cans next to the Senate in Paris, March 12, 2023. © Michel Euler, AP

  • The energy sector mobilized

Cuts in production are still on the agenda in the electricity sector, which is still highly mobilized given the crucial issue for electricians and gas operators, who, in addition to the decline in the legal age, fear the abolition of their special pension scheme.

The EDF site identified, Tuesday afternoon, production cuts in nuclear power plants as well as in thermal power plants.

In hydraulics, the EDF site indicated a "loss of available power in progress" of 6,210 MW, "linked to the social movement in progress".

On the gas side, all of Storengy's 13 gas storages were still occupied and on strike Tuesday afternoon "at least until the end of the week", according to CGT Energy, without consequences at this stage for customers.

The four LNG terminals which import liquefied natural gas (LNG) into France also renewed their strike action on Tuesday until next week, we learned from the CGT.

The strike in the oil sector should also continue with the blocking of many refineries.

At TotalEnergies, "for the moment it has not changed, shipments are still blocked everywhere" even if production continues, told AFP Éric Sellini, CGT coordinator for the group.

In the other oil groups, the strike is also continuing, in particular at the Esso-ExxonMobil refinery in Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône) and at the Petroineos refinery in Lavera where the workers "are still on strike", according to the CGT.

26:07

Pensions Greece © France24

With AFP

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