Macron heads to Spain on day of protests at rise in retirement age
EMMANUEL MACRON has been accused of fleeing the fallout of his pension reform, after it emerged that the president of France will be in Spain signing a “friendship” treaty during mass protests today.
Some 10,000 police will be deployed on the first day of strike protests against Mr Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030.
He also wants to increase the duration of contributions required to receive a full pension from 42 to 43 years.
French unions plan to paralyse public transport, shut down schools, set up picket lines and march through cities.
However, despite the high tension, Mr Macron will decamp to Spain today to sign a “friendship and co-operation treaty”. He will be taking 11 ministers with him, including those in charge of transport and the interior.
In an apparent symbolic message to citizens who will remain at work, one of the few high-profile ministers who will remain in France is Olivier Dussopt, the labour minister.
The president’s office at the Elysée Palace insists the trip has long been in the diary but it raised eyebrows among opponents and commentators.
Gilbert Collard, a hard-right MP, said: “Macron imposes a pension reform nobody wants, then hides in Spain with his government as soon as the French take to the streets. What bravery!”
In an apparent attempt to avoid anger over the pension reform – which is being handled by Élisabeth Borne, his prime minister – Mr Macron has also called off his annual New Year’s press conference which was scheduled for this week.
The foreign trip comes as hardline unionists threatened to cut off electricity to MPS and billionaires. The head of the energy and mine branch of the CGT, France’s second-largest union, threatened electricity cuts targeting MPS’ offices if they failed to see eye-to-eye.
Yesterday, Philippe Martinez, the union’s leader, also threatened to pull the plug on the super-rich. “I suggest they also go see the nice properties, the nice castles of billionaires,” he told the broadcaster France 2. “It would be good if we cut off their electricity so that they can put themselves, for a few days, in the shoes of ... French people who can’t afford to pay their bills.”
Domestic intelligence predicts that at least 750,000 people will down tools in the protests. It will be the first time in 12 years – since the retirement age was increased from 60 to 62 – that all of France’s unions are united.
“It’ll be a hellish Thursday,” said transport minister Clement Beaune, urging all those who could to work from home.
Gérald Darmanin, the interior minister, said he expected “just shy of 1,000 troublemakers” in Paris and said he has asked police to protect elected officials because of threats of action against them, including cutting off electricity supplies to their offices.