Millions march in France against pension cuts

[Henk Elegeert]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Da's waar ook, als het maar rechtse marsen zijn idd.

Al een marsmuziekje klaar staan, Oto?
Had Trotski die niet ergens in z'n repertoire ? :)

Henk Elegeert
2010/10/29 Antid Oto <aorta at home.nl>

> REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl
>
> Millions march in France against pension cuts
> By Kumaran Ira and Alex Lantier
> 29 October 2010
>
> Millions of workers and students took to the streets across France Thursday
> to
> protest final approval by the National Assembly of President Nicolas
> Sarkozy’s
> pension “reform” bill. The French economy was still crippled by gasoline
> shortages due to ongoing refinery and port strikes.
>
> The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) estimated that about 2 million
> people
> participated in the day of action, down from 3.5 million in the previous
> national mobilization, held October 19. The government, which has given
> lowball
> estimates of previous days of action, said the turnout was 560,000 as
> compared
> to 1.1 million on October 19.
>
> The demonstration had overwhelming popular support, with 65 percent of the
> population approving it, according to the most recent Le Parisien poll. The
> Sarkozy government, on the other hand, has fallen in recent polls to a
> record
> low 29 percent approval rating.
>
> In line with numerous statements by government and media officials aimed at
> discouraging strike action, Labor Minister Eric Woerth said the
> “significant
> slowdown of the mobilization” meant there could be “an exit from the crisis
> in
> coming days or weeks.”
>
> Yesterday’s nationwide protest was the seventh national day of action
> called by
> the unions against Sarkozy’s pension package since September 7. The bill
> raises
> the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, and the age to retire with a full
> pension from 65 to 67.
>
> According to the unions, 170,000 marched in Paris, versus 330,000 on
> October 19.
> The turnout was similarly lower in most other cities, including Marseille
> (150,000), Lyon (32,000) and Toulouse (120,000). Despite the All Saints
> Week
> holidays, many students joined the protests, although in somewhat reduced
> numbers than in previous days of action.
>
> Both private- and public-sector workers struck. Strikes hit air transport,
> with
> 50 percent of flights cancelled at Paris Orly Airport and 30 percent
> cancelled
> at the remaining metropolitan airports. Public transit was also affected by
> the
> strike movement. Workers at the national railway company (SNCF) and the
> Paris
> region railway system (RATP) walked out. According to company figures, four
> in
> ten regional trains did not run.
>
> The CGT-Energy union said striking workers at France’s electricity monopoly
> EDF
> cut energy production by roughly 6,250 megawatts. It suggested strike
> action
> would continue, stating: “The two methane terminals at Fos are still out of
> operation… There is no doubt that, whatever form they decide on, workers
> will
> continue to mobilize against the pension bill. On many sites, plans to
> continue
> action are already organized.”
>
> Workers at four of the country’s twelve refineries continue to block fuel
> shipments, and five of the six domestic refineries of French oil firm Total
> remain on strike.
>
> In many refineries that have voted to end the strike, it is impossible to
> resume
> production due to continuing strikes at oil terminals located at major
> ports,
> such as Fos-Lavéra near Marseille. The Marseille port reported that 79
> ships
> were anchored offshore, including 58 oil tankers—38 with crude oil and 20
> with
> refined petroleum products.
>
> One in five gas stations still faces supply problems. According to the
> Zagaz web
> site, which is widely used to compare fuel prices online, “20 percent of
> gas
> stations still lacked one or several types of fuel Thursday, compared to 27
> percent Wednesday afternoon.”
>
> Le Parisien commented, “The situation Thursday was identical to the day
> before,
> that is, striking port terminals blocking crude supplies to most French
> refineries. This is the case with the oil terminals at Fos, Le Havre and
> Donges.”
>
> Although garbage collection workers in southern cities like Marseille,
> Nantes,
> Pau and Agen have voted to return to work, garbage collectors in the Paris
> region and Toulouse are still in striking. Some 15 percent of the 7,000
> municipal garbage collectors, along with workers from private garbage
> companies,
> are on strike. Workers continue a blockade, which began October 19, of the
> incineration center of Ivry-sur-Seine on the outskirts of Paris.
>
> Many press accounts spoke of an angry mood at the demonstrations, with
> protestors dismissing government claims that the strike movement was over
> and
> criticizing the unions for not organizing more effective action.
>
> Le Monde cited a psychologist, Jean-Noël, in Paris, saying, “There are
> plenty of
> people anyway, it’s good and we should continue. The supposed collapse of
> the
> demonstrations, that’s a bunch of speeches that are being repeated by the
> media.”
>
> The newspaper quoted several workers who bitterly criticized the unions. A
> hospital employee said, “There was no real will to fight on the part of the
> union leaders. They let themselves get overrun by their base.” Another said
> the
> unions “allowed industrial action to proceed, but without really supporting
> it.”
>
> Le Monde worried about what strategy the union bureaucracy could pursue to
> wind
> down the protests, writing: “In this context, what to do? Continuing as if
> nothing had happened seems difficult, but so is winding things down. The
> union
> leaders must surely know that they could take a wallop from the most
> motivated
> protestors.”
>
> Yesterday’s protests show that large sections of the working class do not
> accept
> the cuts, even after they have been voted into law. Their determination to
> continue the fight poses starkly the need for a new leadership and new
> strategy
> to carry through a political struggle against the Sarkozy government.
>
> The policies proposed by the World Socialist Web Site—organizing committees
> of
> action independently of the unions and preparing a mass political strike to
> bring down the Sarkozy government and fight for a workers’ government—flow
> directly from the logic of the political situation.
>
> The unions have shown they are hostile to the struggle against the cuts.
> They
> have isolated strikers, refusing to mount sympathy strikes to protest
> police
> strikebreaking against oil workers, and have refused to call for a general
> strike.
>
> Now, they are limiting themselves to appeals for Sarkozy to renegotiate the
> cuts
> with them. Such appeals are cynical and impotent, as Sarkozy has already
> obtained passage of the law, making clear that he will not negotiate.
>
> The CGT said yesterday’s protest was an “exceptional event in the social
> history
> of our country,” yet it did not call for the repeal of the cuts. Instead,
> it
> repeated its demand for talks: “The president of the Republic must finally
> listen to the message of the great majority of the population,” and “open
> real
> negotiations with the unions.”
>
> French Democratic Labor Confederation (CFDT) Secretary François Chérèque
> said
> the law is not “fair,” adding, “Vast majorities of workers are against this
> law,
> and our duty is to continue to say it.” He then suggested postponing
> opposition
> to the indefinite future, suggesting that “after the promulgation of this
> law”
> the “fight” might take the form of the “discussion of 2013.”
>
> Such a “fight” would, in fact, lead only to more social attacks on the
> workers.
> Chérèque is referring to a provision of the current pension bill specifying
> that
> in 2013 there will be talks between the unions and the government on
> passing to
> a “points-based” pension system. This would allow the authorities to
> change—that
> is, cut—pension payments based on various factors, including life
> expectancy.
>
> http://wsws.org/articles/2010/oct2010/fran-o29.shtml
>
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