The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Why fury over pensions crippled France
A protest against changes to France’s pension system brought parts of the country to a grinding halt Thursday, with nationwide strikes shutting down transportation and leaving schools and hospitals unstaffed and basic government services unmet. Commuters struggled to find ways to get to work as subways in Paris were largely shut, children left for school early and only about one in eight suburban trains were running in many areas, if they were running at all.
What happened
Throughout the country, workers stayed home to register opposition to the proposed changes pushed by President Emmanuel Macron. The widespread participation in the strike suggested deep social discontent, creating a new test for the government after its largely successful efforts to tamp down last year’s “Yellow Vest” protests.
The strikes began Wednesday night, with workers at the national rail company walking off the job, parts of the Paris subway system shutting down and buses returning to their depots, but the situation turned more serious Thursday.
The government deployed thousands of additional police officers in Paris alone to prepare for potential violence. Stores and banks were boarded up.
Huge crowds peacefully marched down Paris’s wide boulevard Magenta amid blaring loudspeakers and occasional firecrackers.
Though officials and protest organizers gave conflicting figures, the demonstrations were some of the largest in recent years.
Sporadic violence broke out in Paris, especially near the Place de la République. Some protesters burned vehicles and threw projectiles at the police there, and officers fired tear gas and charged the group. Police announced that officers had carried out 9,350 “preventive checks” and 71 people had been arrested by 3:30 p.m.
There were also reports of isolated standoffs in other cities, including Bordeaux, where security forces also fired tear gas.
Macron ‘calm and determined’
Macron is “calm and determined” in the face of Thursday’s strike, though he is concerned about disruptions to daily life, a senior official at the Élysée Palace, the French presidency, told reporters at a news briefing.
Macron is “watchful that public order be respected, watchful as to the difficulties for French people, and watchful also that the right to strike is respected,” said the aide, who spoke anonymously, in line with French government rules. But the aide underlined the president’s determination to see his pension overhaul through.
The aide was also at pains to dismiss the idea that Macron had cut himself off from ordinary citizens over the changes. The president has yet to make a comprehensive address explaining his ideas.
Why are people striking?
France has one of the world’s most generous pension systems, and past efforts to change it have long proven perilous in French politics. But Macron is pushing ahead, hoping to streamline a byzantine system of 42 different pension plans that is headed toward a $19 billion deficit.
Macron proposed merging the various plans, public and private, into one state-managed system, in which workers would accumulate points throughout their careers and then cash them in. He has sold the idea as a fairer system, but some are concerned they would be left with lower payouts.
“They are changing the rules midgame,” said Christine D., a 52-year-old schoolteacher who declined to give her last name. “They don’t communicate enough with the people.”
Philippe Martinez, secretary general of the General Confederation of Labour, one of the unions opposed to the pension plans, said his group would not back down until the overhaul was scrapped.
The strikes are not directly tied to last year’s Yellow Vest protests, but the Yellow Vests said they would join the new protest, as did a wide spectrum of unions and political parties.
Not all in favor of strikes
Châtelet, a major metro hub and station for regional trains, was empty by late morning, and virtually all the stores inside were closed. A screen displayed all lines to the outer suburbs as being on strike, as well as most metro lines.
A scattering of security guards and cleaners working in the shopping mall Les Halles, connected to the station, said they had woken up earlier than usual to take trains in before transport was halted.
“I can’t afford not to work,” said a cleaner who gave only his first name, Manu. “I know people are striking over pensions, but it makes things a lot harder.”
The Gare de Lyon, a major hub in eastern Paris, was nearly empty, with seemingly more national rail employees to help stranded travelers than travelers themselves.