Back on the streets Thursday for a twelfth day of demonstrations against the pension reform, the opponents were much less numerous but still determined to continue the movement on the eve of the crucial decision of the Constitutional Council.
After almost three months of social conflict, the mobilization has shown signs of running out of steam.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, 380,000 demonstrators marched in France, including 42,000 in Paris against 570,000, including 57,000 in the capital, on April 6.
This is the second lowest mobilization since the beginning of the movement after that of March 11 (368,000) while the highest was reached on March 7 with 1.28 million demonstrators.
The new secretary general of the CGT Sophie Binet for her part claimed "more than 1.5 million demonstrators", including 400,000 in Paris, against two million last week. "Contrary to what the government hopes, the movement is far from over," she said.
"The challenge to this reform is still strong," said Laurent Berger. For the boss of the CFDT, "the union fight is far from over", whatever the verdict of the Constitutional Council, expected Friday at the end of the day.
The object of all attention, the institution housed in the Royal Palace, in the heart of the capital, is under close surveillance.
The place and its surroundings will be prohibited to any demonstration until Saturday 08:00. A rally is scheduled for Friday at the end of the afternoon on the forecourt of the Town Hall, at the call of certain unions.
According to a note from territorial intelligence consulted by AFP, 131 actions are expected Friday evening in response to the decision of the Constitutional Council. “Actions will take shape at the end of the day, in the form of rallies, parades and blocking actions”, according to this note.
Clashes and damage once again marred the demonstrations in Nantes, Rennes, Quimper and Lyon, where a photographer was injured during a police charge. In Paris, where the police dispersed the last demonstrators around 8:45 p.m., the prefecture reported 47 arrests and 10 injuries among the police.
In Aurillac, "effigies of the President of the Republic" were thrown into a fire at the end of the demonstration, according to the Cantal prefecture, which denounces "unacceptable facts".
For some opponents, this twelfth step "is a kind of last stand", sums up Martine Girard in Marseille. "Even if there is little hope, we want to show that we are not fooled", explains this 50-year-old teacher, who recognizes that there are "a lot fewer people mobilized because financially it becomes hard".
In fact, the strikers were few, especially in education, where the ministry counted about 5% among teachers in areas not yet on vacation. Blockades of high schools and universities took place in Lille, Paris and Strasbourg.
Few disruptions also in transport, but the Eiffel Tower was again closed for the 10th time in 12 days of mobilization.
Dams have also hindered access to emblematic industrial sites such as the Feyzin refinery (Rhône), the Gravelines nuclear power plant (North) and the Ivry incinerator (Val-de-Marne).
In the capital, where the garbage had not been collected for three weeks in March, a new renewable strike of the garbage collectors began Thursday at the call of the CGT.
In the absence of a total censorship of the reform, the unions hope that the Constitutional Council will cancel part of it, which would strengthen their arguments in favor of a suspension or a withdrawal.
“The country must continue to move forward,” President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday from Amsterdam, where he was visiting, offering the unions an “exchange which will allow the continuation to be initiated”.
"We will first give him the 15 days of reflection to request a new deliberation or decide not to apply the law", reacted the secretary general of Force Ouvrière, Frédéric Souillot.
A "period of decency" also demanded by Laurent Berger, who is already planning towards "major popular demonstrations on May 1".
Opponents of the reform are also counting on the validation by the Constitutional Council of the referendum of shared initiative (RIP) launched by the left, which could breathe new life into the dispute.
"If we don't have at least the RIP, then social anger will be very strong," warned CFTC president Cyril Chabanier.
Union officials were due to meet on Thursday evening to prepare their common reaction to the different scenarios, depending on the verdict of the "Wise Men" on Friday.
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04/13/2023 22:09:23 - Paris (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
