Feet and fists raised.
The sixth day of mobilization against the pension reform promises to be powerful.
This is at least the wish of the main unions which call in a joint press release to
"put France to a halt"
on March 7th.
A cannonball promise to try to roll back the executive.
Before that, the inter-union mobilizes its troops for a fifth time on February 16, just to weigh in the debate when the text of the reform is examined in the National Assembly.
However, “
the strike of March 7 will not be comparable in any way with that of February 16
,” warns Yvan Ricordeau, national secretary of the CFDT.
Le Figaro
takes stock of the extent of the mobilization on March 7.
Read alsoFebruary 16 strike against pension reform: what to expect?
All sectors - in particular transport, industry, energy, education, public service - should be impacted by this mobilization which promises to be "
massive if the government continues to turn a deaf ear to the demands of the street
".
“To the usual militants and trade unionists will be added those despoiled by the reform, that is to say all the workers”
estimates Fabien Dumas, federal secretary of SUD-rail
.
Laurent Berger, leader of the CFDT, said on Sunday on RTL that all French people are invited to
“symbolically”
join the movement, for example “
by lowering the curtain of their stores for an hour or two
”.
Yvan Ricordeau, national secretary of the Belleville power station, told the
Figaro
that the planned actions will be "
more diversified, striking and spectacular
", referring in particular to snail operations and free tolls, as well as visibility gestures in strategic places.
Disruptions are expected to be particularly severe in the transport sector.
On the rails side, switchers, controllers and train drivers should disengage "
en masse
" advances Fabien Dumas, federal secretary of SUD-rail.
“
Many of them have already filed their strike declarations, although they can do so up to 48 hours before the start of the mobilization.
This precocity testifies to their fervor
”.
Metro, bus and tram traffic could also be impacted.
The RATP inter-union has already come out in favor of a renewable strike, alongside SUD Rail and the CGT-railway workers.
Air transport could also be affected, with large-scale mobilizations like the one observed last Saturday at Orly,
The inter-union of education, bringing together the seven main teacher unions, called on Tuesday for the strikes to make it possible to “completely close schools, colleges, high schools and services” on March 7.
The date chosen by the inter-union is part of a finely conducted strategy.
The week of Tuesday March 7, all of France will be back at work after the winter holidays.
From there, strikes and crippling actions will have that much more impact.
The walkout rate should also climb, compared to those of February 16 or 11.
The next day will be the International Day of the Fight for Women's Rights, which the unions intend to "
seize [...] to highlight the major social injustice of this reform against women
".
Towards a renewable strike?
The succession of these two days of mobilization necessarily raises the question of a renewable strike.
The transport unions have already come out in favor, like the inter-union RATP, SUD-rail and CGT-railway workers.
For Fabien Dumas, federal secretary of SUD-rail, “
only a renewable strike is likely to make the government bend.
On the other hand, a stack of disparate days only weighs on the wages of the strikers
”.
Read also Pension reform: in the face of public opinion, the three small assets of the executive
However, the CFDT, the first trade union in France, still rejects this option.
Laurent Berger, clarified that he was not yet "
in the logic of the renewable strike
", explaining that March 7 will be the subject of a "
call for a 24-hour strike but not necessarily more
".
As Yvan Ricordeau rightly points out, the word "
renewable
" does not appear in the joint press release.
