“This is the last major demonstration before the vote,”
has repeatedly hammered the secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, in recent days.
For him, as for all union leaders, this eighth day of mobilization must be an opportunity to strike a blow before a final vote which promises to be tighter than ever.
On the surface, the tone is meant to be combative, but something seems to have broken in recent days.
If the intersyndicale could not make the government back down on the postponement of the legal retirement age, it had at least managed to play an almost perfect score during the first weeks.
The unions had managed to avoid violence, showed unity and responsibility, when the deputies railed against each other in the Chamber.
Read alsoLaurent Berger, the key man who annoys the government
There followed a long break, imposed by school holidays, periods never conducive to protest.
The resumption of the arm wrestling was to announce the hardening of the fight, but it rather sounded that of the slow decline.
Admittedly, the day of “reunion”, March 7, was indeed the biggest mobilization since the beginning of the movement, as the unions hoped.
However, the promise to
"bring France to a standstill"
turned out to be too ambitious.
The inter-union, as united as it is, simply did not have the power.
Its representatives explained, the same evening, that the formula
"was an image",
and that
"we knew very well that we could not block the country",
according to Pascale Coton of the CFTC.
But threats only have weight if they can be acted upon.
The call to demonstrate on Saturday March 11 confirmed the decline in mobilization, with 368,000 people counted according to the Ministry of the Interior, against 963,000 a month earlier, the only other day of action to also be held on a Saturday.
A decline that the unions explained by the extent of the mobilization of the 7th. Nevertheless, in the event of average attendance this Wednesday, justifying the maintenance of the fight will be more and more difficult.
“Respect the law”
On TV sets, the tone is apparently the same.
Officially, the inter-union still demands the withdrawal of the law and wants to continue the fight.
Between the lines, however, some new phrases appear.
Invited on BFMTV on Sunday March 12, the secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, recalled that his union
"whatever happens, will respect the legality".
An exit which suggests that in the event of promulgation, the central reformist will not persist in a frontal fight with the executive.
The number one, however, has created a way out, leaving doubts about a possible reaction in the event of the use of 49.3 to pass the reform.
He recalled that this tool, without being unconstitutional, would be
"a democratic vice"
and referred to the next meetings of the inter-union, at the end of the week, on the follow-up to be given to the showdown.
Read alsoPension reform: these privileged professions always ready to block the country
Keeping the thirteen unions united, however, risks becoming more and more complicated.
Some more radical federations, particularly within the CGT, have already announced that they were following their own agenda, and that the vote on the law would not change their strategy.
An agenda of a completely different nature and probably linked to the proximity to the 53rd congress of the Montreuil power plant scheduled for the end of the month.
A strong moment since Philippe Martinez must hand over.
Despite a nominated candidate, Marie Buisson, some still hope to use the current struggle as a launching pad for their own candidacy for the number one position.