The mobilization of the day would be a turning point, according to the words of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who participated in the Marseille parade.
A turning point because many French people have decided to pound the pavement to express their opposition to the pension reform.
The unions now hope to be able to announce a higher number of protesters nationwide than on January 19.
Clearly, the figures given by the authorities invite them to optimism.
At midday, the police counted 735,000 demonstrators, against 650,000 on January 19, an increase of 20%.
This evening, the CGT claimed 2.8 million demonstrators throughout France, against 1.27 million according to the Ministry of the Interior.
Read alsoFollow live the second day of mobilization against pension reform
The gauge rises almost everywhere, in large cities as in small ones.
The rise is particularly striking in
Marseille
, where the prefecture counted 40,000 protesters, compared to 26,000 on January 19.
Such a level of mobilization had not been observed in the Marseille city for almost twenty years.
Participation also increased in
Nantes
, where the police counted 28,000 people in the procession, against 25,000 the previous time.
A crowd opposed to the postponement of the legal retirement age, from 62 to 64, who pounded the pavement chanting: “Macron, your law, it will not pass!
".
In Paris
, the police headquarters announced 87,000 demonstrators, while the CGT claimed more than 500,000 demonstrators.
They were also nearly 25,000 in
Montpellier
, 10,000 more than during the first demonstration.
A noticeable revival also in smaller towns, such as
Sète
(4500),
Calais
(5000) or
Guéret
(4300).
The authorities noted at least 23,000 in
Rennes
, 10,000 in
Châteauroux
or even 7,500 in
Béziers
.
"At night it's true that it's more and more difficult"
The crowd was stable elsewhere compared to January 19, like
Toulouse
where the prefecture announced 34,000 demonstrators, against 36,000 on January 19.
Anonymous people like Christian B., 54, flight simulator repairer at the aircraft manufacturer Airbus and worried about having to work longer: "When I work the nights, it's true that it's more and more difficult, I don't I don't see myself working until I'm 65 and I don't see my employer keeping me until I'm 65".
Stability also in
Bordeaux
(16,500),
Rouen
(14,000),
Strasbourg
(10,500) or
Nice
(7,000), within a few hundred each time.
In other cities, on the other hand, the figures of the authorities are in decline, as in
Orleans
(8,500 against 12,000 on January 19), where Michèle Durand, 58, made her calculations: “With the new reform, I must work six more months.
Already we are paid 20% less than men, it's double the penalty.
It is always the poor and the women who have to work longer.
“Decrease also observed, although lighter, in
Clermont-Ferrand
(17,000),
Valenciennes
(4,500),
Tulle
(3,600) or
Belfort
(3,400).
But the figures of the unions are almost systematically on the rise, with differences most often ranging from simple to double as in
Toulon
(from 9,000 to 18,000), but which can exceed triple as in
Le Havre
(from 12,000 to 40,000) , with as usual a ratio of one to five in Marseille, where the CGT claimed more than 200,000 demonstrators.
