France

‘Black Thursday’ Strikes In France Over Macron’s Pension Reform

March 23, 2023 Al Jazeera. Resist! France, National Strike, Pensions, Worker Rights and Jobs

French workers angry that the pension age is being increased blocked access to a terminal at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on a day of nationwide protests. The demonstrations on Thursday forced some travellers to get there on foot. Train services were also disrupted and some schools shut while garbage piled up on the streets, and electricity output was cut, as unions pressured the government to withdraw the law that delays retirement by two years, changing it from age 62 to age 64. Plumes of smoke were seen rising from burning piles of debris blocking traffic on a highway near Toulouse, in southwestern France, and wildcat strikes briefly blocked roads in other cities as well.

French Government Bypasses Parliamentary Vote

March 17, 2023 People's Dispatch. Resist! Democracy, Emmanuel Macron, France, National Strike, Pensions

On March 16, the French government invoked the emergency provision Article 49.3 of the Constitution in the parliament and passed a controversial pension reform, bypassing the parliamentary vote. The decision announced by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to avoid voting on the pension reforms envisaged in the ‘law of amending financing of Social Security for 2023’, provoked ire from progressive legislators of the New Ecological and Social People’s Union (NUPES) coalition as well as large sections of civil society. Spontaneous protests have already broken out across the country condemning the forced approval of the bill.

French Workers Launch Indefinite Strike Against Pension Reforms

March 14, 2023 Brandon Jourdan, The Real News Network. Resistance Report Emmanuel Macron, France, National Strike, Worker Rights and Jobs

So far, after weeks of targeted strikes by workers opposing President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to raise the national retirement age and reform the country’s beloved pension system, the French government has refused to change course. That is why unions across different industries raised the ante last week, launching an indefinite strike until workers’ demands are met. As Eric Challal of the Solidaires Unitaires Démocratiques (SUD) Railway Union put it, “We have no choice, we must make Macron back down, make the employers back down. There is no lack of money in this society… Wages are too low, prices are exploding, the high cost of living, the threat of war… We have this opportunity to fight, all the workers together.”

French Socialists On The Potential And Strategy Of Working-Class Struggle

March 14, 2023 Révolution Permanente, Left Voice. Strategize! Class Struggle, France, Macron, Socialism

Romaric Godin is a journalist in the economics department of Mediapart (an independent French investigative newspaper) and author of La Guerre sociale en France — or The Social War in France — an analysis of the developments of French neoliberalism after the election of Emmanuel Macron in 2017. Juan Chingo other is an editorialist and board member at Révolution Permanente, as well as the author of Gilets jaunes, le soulèvement — or Yellow Vests, The Uprising — an examination of the Yellow Vests movement and the contradictions of Macron’s reactionary presidency.Romaric Godin is a journalist in the economics department of Mediapart (an independent French investigative newspaper) and author of La Guerre sociale en France — or The Social War in France — an analysis of the developments of French neoliberalism after the election of Emmanuel Macron in 2017. Juan Chingo other is an editorialist and board member at Révolution Permanente, as well as the author of Gilets jaunes, le soulèvement — or Yellow Vests, The Uprising — an examination of the Yellow Vests movement and the contradictions of Macron’s reactionary presidency.

Women’s Rights At The Heart Of The Fight Over Pensions In France

March 9, 2023 People's Health Dispatch. Resist! France, International Women's Day, Pensions, Worker Rights

For the first time in the history of France, trade unions have called for a two-day general strike that will extend to March 8, International Working Women’s Day. The general mobilization will begin on Tuesday, March 7, and it is expected to cause widespread protests all over the country. This is the first time since May 1968 that trade unions have issued a joint call for a general strike that will last for more than 24 hours. While actions for March 8 have grown in strength over the past years, this year’s mobilizations are expected to be particularly powerful. For the first time, it is social movements as a whole, and not the feminist movement alone, that is calling for the strike on International Working Women’s Day.

Western Leaders Privately Say Ukraine Can’t Win The War

February 26, 2023 Joe Lauria, Consortium News. Educate! Europe, France, Germany, NATO, Russia, Ukraine, Wars and Militarism

Western leaders privately told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine can not win the war against Russia and that it should begin peace talks with Moscow this year in exchange for closer ties with NATO. The private communications are at odds with public statements from Western leaders who routinely say they will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes until it achieves victory on the battlefield. The Wall Street Journal, which reported on the private remarks to Zelenksy, said: “The public rhetoric masks deepening private doubts among politicians in the U.K., France and Germany that Ukraine will be able to expel the Russians from eastern Ukraine and Crimea, which Russia has controlled since 2014, and a belief that the West can only help sustain the war effort for so long, especially if the conflict settles into a stalemate, officials from the three countries say."

‘Robin Hood’ Strikes In France

February 2, 2023 Otto Fors, Left Voice. Resist! Energy, France, Mass Action, Worker Rights and Jobs

France has been roiled by protests over President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to raise the retirement age. On both January 19 and 31, over a million people across the country took part in demonstrations, and last week, workers with the CGT union took a more radical approach: they provided free energy as part of so-called “Robin Hood” operations. Many members of the CGT, one of France’s largest labor unions, work in key energy sectors like oil refineries and power grids. In workers’ assemblies in Paris, Marseilles, Lille, and other cities, they unanimously decided to provide free energy for low-income households, hospitals, schools, and other public buildings and services. Workers also cut power for several hours to the office of a lawmaker from Macron’s party, disabled speed cameras, and manipulated electricity and gas meters to reduce bills for small business owners.

Burkina Faso Ejects French Troops

January 30, 2023 Vijay Prashad, People's Dispatch. Resist! Burkina Faso, France, Libya, NATO, Wars and Militarism

On January 18, 2023, the government of Burkina Faso made a decision to ask the French military forces to depart from the country within a month. This decision was made by the government of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who staged the second coup of 2022 in Burkina Faso in September to remove Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had seized power in a coup d’état in January. Traoré, now the interim president of Burkina Faso, said that Damiba, who is in exile in Togo, had not fulfilled the objectives of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration, the name of their military group. Traoré’s government accused Damiba of not being able to stem the insurgency in the country’s north and of colluding with the French (alleging that Damiba had taken refuge in the French military base at Kamboinsin to launch a strike against the coup within a coup).

Emmanuel Macron’s Pension Reform Is A Health Hazard

January 23, 2023 People's Dispatch. Resist! France, health, National Strike, Pensions, Worker Rights and Jobs

Demonstrations and strikes began in France on Thursday, January 19, as President Macron pursues his bill to raise the legal retirement age to 64 years. Trade unionists estimate that by noon local time, approximately one million people across the country had taken to the street to oppose the bill. By the end of the day, almost two million people participated in protests in different cities, with 400,000 marching in Paris alone, according to approximations from the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). Macron’s proposal is part of an attempt to adapt the Social Security Finance Bill, a discussion that the French Parliament will tackle from January 29 until March 26. In case the government does not back down from its plan, mobilizations are certain to expand and continue throughout the duration of the parliamentary debate. The next strike has already been announced for January 31.

France: Over Two Million March, Strike Against Pension Cuts

January 21, 2023 Gary Wilson, Struggle La Lucha. Resist! France, Pensions, Strikes, Worker Rights and Jobs

French President Emmanuel Macron’s retirement and pension cuts sparked more than 200 mass demonstrations and strikes across France on Jan. 19. Labor unions said more than 2 million people took part nationwide, including 400,000 in Paris. Polls show that 80% of the population opposes the cuts, which would increase the minimum retirement age to 64 with a minimum pay-in period of 43 years. As Macron pushed the pension cuts, he also announced a major $448 billion hike in military spending. Eight major unions had designated Jan. 19 the “first day of strikes and protests” against the cuts. The unions have announced new strikes and protests for Jan. 31. France’s education ministry said that over 40% of primary school teachers and one-third of high school teachers participated in the strikes, forcing many schools to close their doors for the day.

France: ‘Black Thursday’ Nationwide Strike Over Pension Reforms

January 19, 2023 Al Mayadeen English, Struggle La Lucha. Resist! France, National Strike, Pensions, Worker Rights and Jobs

Massive mayhem is ahead in France, as unions and protesters call for a “Black Thursday” countrywide strike over the government’s pension plans this week. The day of protest will be the first significant challenge that will establish the extent of the public’s will to pressure French President Emmanuel Macron to back down on plans to increase the official retirement age. To this end, French union leaders have urged for “massive mobilization.” Three-quarters of teachers are anticipated to join the strike, disrupting schools, transportation, and healthcare services. Most trains will not operate, the Paris metro services will be significantly impacted, and flights are expected to be canceled. Truck drivers, couriers, petroleum refinery workers, and delivery businesses have all announced they will be joining the strikes.

The French Working Class Organizes To Defeat Macron’s Pension Reforms

January 13, 2023 People's Dispatch. Resist! France, Pensions, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

On January 10, all the major trade unions in France gave a joint call for protests against the proposals for pension reforms announced by the Emmanuel Macron-led government. The unions, including the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT), Workers’ Force (FO), the French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC), the French Confederation of Management—General Confederation of Executives (CFE-CGC), the National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions (UNSA), Fédération syndicale unitaire (FSU), and Solidaires, have called for a general strike and nationwide protest mobilization on January 19. The left-wing coalition Nouvelle Union Populaire Écologique et Sociale (NUPES) composed of the La France Insoumise (LFI), French Communist Party (PCF), and others also oppose the reforms and have extended support to the protests.

Macron Says Security Guarantees For Russia Needed For Future Peace Deal

December 7, 2022 Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com. Educate! Emmanuel Macron, France, NATO, Russia, Ukraine, Wars and Militarism

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that Russia’s security concerns when it comes to NATO expansion need to be taken into account in any future peace talks and that the West needs to be prepared to give Moscow guarantees. “We need to prepare what we are ready to do, how we protect our allies and member states, and how to give guarantees to Russia the day it returns to the negotiating table,” the French leader said in an interview that aired Saturday. “One of the essential points we must address — as President Putin has always said — is the fear that NATO comes right up to its doors, and the deployment of weapons that could threaten Russia,” Macron added. Any future peace deal between Russia and Ukraine would require a guarantee that Kyiv will remain neutral and won’t join NATO.

Mali’s Break With France Is A Symptom Of Cracks In The Transatlantic Alliance

December 2, 2022 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. Educate! colonization, France, Mali, Western imperialism

On 21 November 2022, Mali’s interim prime minister, Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, issued a statement on social media announcing the government’s decision ‘to ban, with immediate effect, all activities carried out by [French] NGOs operating in Mali’. This announcement came a few days after the French government cut Official Development Aid (ODA) to Mali, alleging that Mali’s government is ‘allied to Wagner’s Russian mercenaries’ (referring to the Russian private military company, the Wagner Group). Colonel Maïga called the French claims ‘fanciful allegations’ and a ‘subterfuge intended to deceive and manipulate national and international public opinion for the purpose of destabilising and isolating Mali’. This is the latest expression of a new mood that has gripped the areas of northern Africa where France once wielded colonial rule.

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