Macron’s pension reform: what’s next in France?

In the evening there were again violent demonstrations in several cities against the pension reform in France. Protests have also been announced for the coming days. How is the country doing now?

How did yesterday go?

There were demonstrations across the country, for example in Strasbourg, Lille or Evreux. Everywhere there was “action flash” – ie spontaneous actions like in Bordeaux or Toulon, where trade unionists occupied platforms and paralyzed train traffic. They shouted: “The anger is growing!”

In Paris, the ring road, the Périphérique, was occupied in the middle of the rush hour. And the motorists didn’t react annoyed at all, but raised their fists and showed their approval of the protests. Because eight out of 10 French people on the job market do not want the reform, nor do they want it to be pushed through Parliament with Article 49.3 without a vote.

In Lyon, the opera is on strike, refineries and waste incineration plants are blocked. In Paris, thousands of mostly young people gathered again on the largest square in the city – the Place de la Concorde, which means “unity”. But France is far from that. There were over 60 arrests after projectiles and bottles were thrown and cardboards were set on fire. The heavily armed security forces use water cannons.

The demonstrators have announced that they want to come to Concorde Square every day until the pension reform is history.

What does the weekend bring?

The weekend will bring many spontaneous local protest actions. The unions have unanimously called for this. In some places it can be more radical. Many professions have extended their strikes: the garbage collectors in Paris, railway workers, refinery workers. Trains will be canceled again, as will flights.

The interior minister has already ordered security measures to be tightened for members of the National Assembly. Because some actions are aimed directly at supporters of the reform, in some of whose home towns the electricity has been switched off.

Emmanuel Macron’s official website says: The President’s agenda for the next few days is not yet available. When it comes to his head of government, Elisabeth Borne, one only reads that she is meeting with young people on Saturday afternoons, it is supposed to be about equal opportunities.

How’s it going next week?

In France, the question is whether the government will be overthrown – on Monday. Then, from 4 p.m., Parliament is to vote on two motions of no confidence. One was brought in by Marine Le Pen’s right-wing Rassemblement National. The other a coalition of five parties from the liberal center to the far left.

This cross-party motion has greater chances. If he were to pass, Elisabeth Borne’s government would have to resign. The pension reform law would then be rejected. But mathematically, that’s going to be difficult. Because a vote of no confidence only goes through with 287 yes votes. This means that each and every member of the opposition would have to vote for it, but also about half of the approximately 60 conservative Les Républicains. And there probably won’t be that many deviants from the party line.

Officially, no Républicain should express distrust in the government. The question is, of course, whether there are dissenters in the presidential camp itself, then things could still get tight.

The unions then announced the ninth national protest day for Thursday. Does that still make sense if the reform should then be through? Yes, many say. You have in mind that in 2006 the government had to withdraw a labor market law that had already come into force after two months of constant protests.