Paris/Tours, France
Reuters
Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across France on Saturday seeking to keep up pressure on the government over its pension reform plans, including a move to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62.
After three days of nationwide strikes since the start of the year, unions are hoping to match a mass turnout from 19th January when more than a million people marched in opposition to the plans.
Flames from a fire rise behind law enforcement officers during a demonstration against the French government’s pension reform plan as part of the fourth day of national protests, in Paris, France, on 11th February, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Yves Herman
“If they’re not able to listen to what’s happening on the streets, and are not able to realise what is happening with the people, well they shouldn’t be surprised that it blows up at some point,” Delphine Maisonneuve, a 43-year-old nurse told Reuters as a protest in Paris kicked off.
…WHILE IN PORTUGAL TEACHERS TAKE TO STREETS AS WAVE OF DISCONTENT INTENSIFIES
Tens of thousands of teachers took to Lisbon’s streets on Saturday in one of the biggest protests in Portugal in recent years as the Socialist government faces a wave of discontent over the cost of living crisis.
“[We] have been badly treated for a long time,” said Portuguese language teacher Maria Coelho, 55, as she held a banner reading “Respect” at the protest organised by the FENPROF union.
“We are here today and we will be here for many more to come,” she added.
School teachers demonstrate for better salaries and working conditions in Lisbon, Portugal, on 11th February, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Pedro Nunes
The union said it expected more than 100,000 people to take part in the protest. No police estimate of attendance was immediately available.It was the third time in less than a month that teachers and school workers have held mass demonstrations in Portugal.
Teachers on the lowest pay scale make around €1,100 euros per month but even teachers in higher bands typically earn less than €2,000. They also want the government to speed up career progression.
“I feel robbed every day of my life,” said special needs teacher Albertina Baltazar. “[We want] respect for our profession.”
Education Minister Joao Costa said negotiations with teachers’ unions were ongoing and that they hoped to reach an agreement soon.
A year after Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa won a majority in parliament, he is facing a slump in popularity and street protests not just by teachers but by other professionals.
Portugal is one of Western Europe’s poorest countries, with government data showing more than 50 per cent of workers earned less than €1,000 per month last year. The minimum wage is €760 per month.
Portugal’s biggest umbrella union, the CGTP, held several protests and strikes across the country on Thursday against rising prices and urged the government to increase workers’ pay.
Nurses have also been striking due to lack of career advancement and doctors are expected to walk out for two days next month.
On 25th February, the movement ‘Fair Life’ is encouraging people to protest in Lisbon over the cost of living crisis. Inflation is close to three-decade highs.
House prices in Portugal rose 18.7 per cent in 2022, the biggest increase in three decades, and rents have also increased significantly.
“If we are persistent and if we do not abandon the fight I’m convinced the government will really have to listen to us,” said Carlos Faria, a 47-year-old primary school teacher.
– CATARINA DEMONY and MIGUEL PEREIRA, Lisbon, Portugal/Reuters
The French spend the largest number of years in retirement among OECD countries – a benefit which, opinion polls show, a substantial majority of people are reluctant to give up.
President Emmanuel Macron says the reform is “vital” to ensuring the viability of the pension system.
The Interior Ministry said an estimated 963,000 people had attended demonstrations across the country. Paris police said some 93,000 people had marched in the capital, compared to 80,000 on 19th January. The unions put the Paris figure at 500,000.
In the central western city of Tours, 40-year-old fireman Anthony Chauveau told Reuters that opposing the reform was crucial because the difficulties of his job were simply not being taken into consideration.
“They are telling us that we will need to work two more years… our life expectancy is lower than the majority of workers,” he said.
The peaceful protests in Paris were partly marred by some minor clashes. A car and some rubbish bins were set on fire and police forces used teargas and stun grenades in their attempt to disperse some of the more radical elements in the protests.
Shutting down France
In a joint statement ahead of Saturday’s marches all the main unions called for the government to withdraw the bill.
They warned that they would seek to bring France to a standstill from 7th March if their demands were not met. A strike is already scheduled for 16th February.
“If the government continues to remain deaf then the inter-union grouping will call for France to be shut down,” they said ahead of Saturday’s marches.
The protests are the first on a weekend, when workers do not need to strike or take time off.
They follow the first week of debate on the pension legislation in parliament.
The opposition has suggested thousands of amendments to complicate the debate and ultimately try to force the government to pass the bill without a parliamentary vote and through decree, a move that could potentially sour the rest of Macron’s mandate.
He was re-elected in April, 2022, for five years.
Raising the retirement age by two years and extending the pay-in period would yield an additional €17.7 billion in annual pension contributions, allowing the system to break even by 2027, according to Labour Ministry estimates.
Unions say there are other ways to do this, such as taxing the super rich or asking employers or well-off pensioners to contribute more.
“Even though at my age, I’m not really affected (by the pension reforms), it’s important to be vigilant about our society, that there is solidarity, that it’s one where people are very close to one another, and to be vigilant about caring not only for our elderly but also for our children,” said Kamel Amriou, 65, a retired graphic artist.
