The umpteenth refusal launched at the unions by Elisabeth Borne did not swell the ranks of the demonstrators.
In the aftermath of a new dialogue of the deaf at Matignon, the mobilization again lost steam this Thursday, for the eleventh day of action against the pension reform.
To discover
LIVE – Disturbances, extent of the mobilization: follow the eleventh day of strikes and demonstrations against the pension reform
To cries of
"Macron get out"
, in front of the signs
"Injustice calls for revolt"
, the protesters tried to maintain pressure on the executive.
Out of 214 cities analyzed at 6 p.m., some 417,000 demonstrators were counted in France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior compiled by
Le Figaro
.
Against 521,000 on March 28 and 984,000 on March 23 at the same time.
The strikers were also found to be fewer in transport and schools, where only 8% of teachers went on strike, according to National Education.
The deployment of some 11,500 police and gendarmes did not prevent some clashes with radical demonstrators, notably in Rennes, Lyon and Paris.
Read alsoRetirements: Elisabeth Borne looks for the flaw in the unions
On the sidelines of the procession, the jet of a smoke bomb set fire to part of the red awning of the restaurant La Rotonde, where Emmanuel Macron celebrated his victory in the first round of the presidential election in 2017.
A bank was also vandalized, place Denfert-Rochereau.
One voice
A few minutes before the start, the union leaders gathered in the head square at the front of the procession, in Paris, preferred to see the glass half full.
“The challenge is still as strong
,” relativized Laurent Berger, the number one of the CFDT.
In the short term, we will continue to mobilize
Laurent Escure, General Secretary of the UNSA
A little further, Cyril Chabanier, of the CFTC, abounded in this direction:
“There are ups and downs.
We have already experienced declines before the numbers start to rise again.
Sure of their strength, the leaders present continued to see only one possible way out: the withdrawal of the law.
What the executive persists in excluding.
Realists, the unions have long been considering alternative scenarios.
“In the short term, we will continue to mobilize”
, indicates Laurent Escure, secretary general of the UNSA.
This eleventh day will therefore not be the last: union officials are counting on a new mobilization on Thursday, April 13, on the eve of the long-awaited decision of the Constitutional Council on the reform.
Even if some are worried about the image that a emaciated procession would send back, against the backdrop of school holidays.
“I'm afraid that there are few people
,” points out a union executive.
By comparison, the previous movement against pension reform, in 2020, only brought together 92,000 people during the tenth and last rally.
Read alsoMeeting at Matignon: there is "no democratic crisis", responds Macron's entourage to the unions
What follow-up should be given to the mobilization, once the response of the Elders is known?
“I do not have the answer
, admits François Hommeril the number one of the CFE-CGC.
We see the polls, we can not let go like that.
Opinions differ among the unions.
For the reformers, it will be time to change their approach, despite their opposition to the 64s.
“Those who believe that we are going to hold mobilizations every two days once the law has been promulgated are living in a dream
”, slice Laurent Berger.
Reconnect
On the side of the more radical centrals,
“the movement will continue, as we have already done against the laws voted”
, explains, bravado, Michel Beaugas, of Force Ouvrière.
Same line at Solidaires:
"The Constitutional Council is not the alpha and the omega"
, believes Murielle Guilbert, its delegate.
At the top of the State, the members of the executive take their breath until the decision of the Elders.
"Until the 14th, we wait
," said someone close to the head of state.
Especially since the scenario of a partial censorship of the law is added another: the opening of a referendum procedure of shared initiative (RIP).
Once this deadline has passed, the Prime Minister, who
"does not plan to move forward without the social partners"
, hopes to finally renew the dialogue with them.
We are moving from a broad and deep social crisis to a democratic crisis
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the Insoumis
Until then, the trade unions and the left are trying to maintain their mobilization, with one voice.
Thursday, Jean-Luc Mélenchon showed solidarity with Laurent Berger.
On his fixed point located rue de Tourville, in Paris, the leader of the Insoumis judged that the secretary general of the CFDT
"was right"
, the day before,
"to say that we are going from a social crisis, broad and deep, to a democratic crisis”
.
However, for the triple presidential candidate,
"the open democratic crisis can take the turn of a crisis of regime"
.
In his line of sight: the President of the Republic, who spoke on Wednesday from China,
“in extremely harsh terms”
.
According to his socialist ally, Olivier Faure, Emmanuel Macron
“walled himself in his ivory tower”
.
“The question of its legitimacy to act in this way is posed
,” he insisted.
In the absence of a withdrawal of the reform, he evokes a
"return to the French"
.
Either by a referendum or by a dissolution of the National Assembly.
