France: Millions march on October 16 to Defend Pensions

Lisbeth Latham

Millions of people attended protests across France, on October 16, as part the fifth national day of protests against the government’s attacks on pension rights. The protests and strikes demonstrate the widespread opposition within French society to changes to the Pension System that extend people’s working lives. With a final vote on the Bill scheduled for October 20, the government looks set to test the determination workers and students.


Unions are claiming that between 2.5 and 3 million people participated in more than 250 actions on Saturday. While the numbers are down at least 500, 000 people on the estimate for the October 12 protests, it is close to the size of the protests on September 7 and 23 and October 2. The Interior Ministry is claiming that the protests attracted 825, 000 people down from the Ministry’s estimate of 1.2 million for October 12.

Beyond the national strike significant sections of the French economy continue to be disrupted by ongoing strike action which began on October 12, and in the case of French Ports, September 27. Ongoing strikes continue in the SNCF (state rail), in Local Authorities, several academies of Education, industrial factories (such as for metallurgy and chemicals), the Finance Ministry, Postal Services, networks of urban transport and hospitals. All twelve of France’s fuel refineries have been affected by strikes, with eight closed completely. The closure of the refineries, along with a 21 day strike at Fos-Lavara Oil Port and blockades of fuel depots are causing major disruption to France’s Fuel supplies.

Coming out of October 16, indefinite strikes are set to spread. The Fédération Générale des Transports et de l'Equipement - Confédération française démocratique du travail’s (General Federation of Transport and Equipment - French Democratic Confederation of Labour - FGTE-CFDT) announced on October 16 that it would begin an indefinite strike action in France’s trucking industry beginning in the evening on October 17. Maxime Dumont, head of the FGTE-CFDT, told AFP on October 16, “Truckers are happy to join the action. Next week is going to be decisive, everybody knows that”. The Trade Union Solidaire’s (Solidarity) strike bulletin from October 17 also announced that the Departmental Unions of the Confédération générale du travail (General Confederation of Labour – CGT), CFDT, Force Ouvrière (Workers Force – FO), Union nationale des syndicats autonomes (National Union of Autonomous Unions UNSA), Fédération syndicale unitaire (United Union Federation –FSU) and Solidaires (Solidarity), in the Ardennes Region, have called for an indefinite strike in both the private and public sectors beginning October 18.

Students, who have only began mobilising in large numbers since October 12, are set to play an important role in the movement. More than 300, of France’s 4500 Lycées (the second stage of secondary school in the French Education system involving students from the ages of 15-18) have been blockaded since October 12. Police have attacked a number of student protests across France with dozens of students arrested. In response to student mobilisations – the government has raised concerns that students were being manipulated by the unions. The Syndicat Général des Lycéens (General Union of High School Students -SGL) has rejected the government’s criticism arguing “if students are not manipulated when they are commit crimes at 16 years-of-age why would they be manipulated by parties or teachers? No offense to the government, young people who demonstrate are responsible!” The SGL has called on all Lycéen students to take action on October 18 against the pension bill.

Despite the size of the movement, it is clear that the government and its supporters are hoping that passing the Pension Bill will demoralise and demobilise the movement. Labour Minister Eric Woerth told France24, on October 17 that “The turnout is clearly down, but there are still a lot of people in the street. I think the French people have understood that pension reform is essential”. The movement is building towards national strike on October 19 as the last opportunity to place pressure on the government to withdraw the Bill. The leaderships of both the CFDT and CGT have called for the Senate to suspend its debate and for a new dialogue to be initiated between unions, the government and the Mouvement des Entreprises de France (Movement of the French Enterprises – MEDEF). It is however unclear how the inter-union will react if the Bill is passed.

The two largest unions in France are the CFDT and the CGT. The CFDT nationally has resisted the call for intensifying the movement by initiating an indefinite general strike and it is unclear what the leadership would support once the legislation is passed. Bernard Thibault, CGT Secretary General, told Reuters on October 16 "The action is not going to stop because senators have voted. Today we have an even bigger encouragement to continue".

The current policy of the inter-union, which is to call on unions in the enterprise to allow a discussion of the memberships to determine what actions they deem appropriate, does allow space for more militant sections of the movement to push for more militant action – which has already been successful with the indefinite strikes spreading as they have. It will be how these two forces, the national leaderships within the inter-union and the membership in the enterprises, respond to the vote in the Senate that will play an important role in determining the future of France’s pension system.

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An Explosive Situation: Towards a General Strike

Sandra Demarcq
International Viewpoint


The political situation in France is dominated by the mobilization against the proposed reform of the pension system. This reform is at the heart of Sarkozy’s austerity policy. Although it is presented as an obvious demographic necessity, it is meeting increasing opposition in public opinion.


The mobilization has been growing since the start of the mobilizations in May and the first day of action in June. Since the beginning of September three days of strikes and demonstrations (the 7th and 23rd of September and the 2nd of October) have brought out 3 million people on each occasion. The CGT estimates that 5 million people have participated in the strikes and demonstrations since the start.


On each day of action, we have seen that there are more private sector workers, more young people – even high school students are beginning to mobilise and block their schools - and more radical demands.

Popular rejection of Sarkozy’s policies
The battle against the draft law on pensions also shows a massive rejection of the whole politics of Sarkozy. There is not only the question of the pension, numerous sectors are extremely mobilized, on strike on various topics: post offices, in hospitals, the nurse-anaesthetists, the dockers...

Faced with this resistance, the government is more and more unpopular. These accumulated difficulties are provoking a crisis within the right.

To try to reassert his control, Sarkozy has stressed his racist and security policies, in relation to the Roms in particular. But also in the last few weeks, the government has tried to make people forget the social question by advancing the terrorist danger. But without much success.

Dissatisfaction is growing and the situation is "explosive". Faced with the success of the demonstrations and strike days, the government has not moved and says that nothing will be changed in its proposal. The crisis and the debt are poor excuses to justify the reform.

Sarkozy and his government want their reform. Faced with the determination of the government, many workers know that to win it’s necessary to impose social determination.

Today, in numerous sectors, it is time for an all-out strike. For example in the RATP (Paris public transport system), the SNCF (French national railway company), but also in the chemical and engineering industries there is a possibility of a continuing srike from Tuesday. [1]

We know that the next day of strikes and demonstrations, on Tuesday 12th October, will be a success. And today, the idea that we can win is increasing.

The state of the movement
It is, at the moment, a very political movement. The strike rates are strong but not exceptional. The self-organization of the movement today, is very low. General assemblies in the various sectors have very low participation.

It is a unitarian movement. There is an inter-union coordinating committee [2], which gives the calendar of mobilisations but which is pushed by the intransigence of the government and by the very radical militant teams.

This movement is characterized by a massive refusal of the reform, a spectacular mistrust against the power, against Sarkozy but we don’t know what will be the end result of this confrontation. Everything is possible.

On the political level
The NPA participates with the whole French left including the PS, but without LO, in a unitarian campaign against the pensions reform .

This unitarian campaign, launched by Attac and the Copernic Foundation, is based on the demand of a pension at 60 years for all and the withdrawal of the law.

Although all the left agrees on these two demands, there are several disagreements.

The disagreement over demands is in particular with the Socialist Party. They agree with the demand of 60 years old as retirement age but they defend the idea that workers must work longer to get a full pension. And so they voted with the rightwing deputies for the increase of years worked to qualify for the full pension.

There are also disagreements about the strategy for winning against the government and obtaining the withdrawal of the draft law. There are disagreements with the Socialist Party but also with the Communist Party and Parti de gauche (Left Party). The Socialist Party ask us to wait for the next presidential elections in 2012 and the other political forces demand a referendum, turning the class struggle into an institutional question. They are all refusing the social confrontation necessary to win.

The NPA’s profile
Since the beginning of the mobilization, the NPA has worked in two directions:

The first : to be completely in the unitarian campaign, defending retirement at 60 years old with full pension. We also demand the withdrawal of the law. Olivier is the party spokesperson who has participated at the most unitarian meetings around the country.

For us, the main demand is the redistribution of wealth and the sharing of work. Our profile is clear, since last May we have been working for a massive social and political confrontation.

As the government is very unpopular, one of our demands is to sack Woerth, the labour minister, and president Sarkozy.

Sandra Demarcq is a member of the Executive Committee of the New Anti-Capitalist pary (NPA) in France, and a member of the leadership of the Fourth International.

NOTES


[1] The right to strike is embodied in the French constitution. Trades unions have to give a “warning” (préavis) of a strike for the workers to be considered legally on strike. In these sectors there has been a préavis for a “reconductible” or all-out strike, that is one that is revoted each day by the workers.

[2] [The “intersyndical” brings together the five confederations, including two usually classed on the “right”, CGT, CFDT, FO, CGC and CFTC; the radical union SUD Solidaires with important implantation in the postal, transport and health sectors, FSU and UNSA (teachers and public sector)

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French Unions Call New National Strike as the Movement to Defend Pensions Continues to Grow

Lisbeth Latham

The inter-union coordinating committee that has led the movement in defence of pensions has announced a new national strike for October 19, to follow the national strike already scheduled on October 16. The call for the next national strike comes as indefinite strikes continue in a large cross section of French industry.


In a statement issued on October 14, the inter-union argued that the mobilisation of 3.5 million workers and students on October 12, the largest of the movement thus far, demonstrated the opposition of workers and the broader public to “unfair and ineffective reforms that exacerbate inequality without ensuring the sustainability of the pension system”. The unions called on their local organisations in both the private and public sector to take united action to amplify the actions on October 16 and 19.

Since October 12, indefinite strikes have continued to operate in wide number of industries. According to the Trade Union Solidaires’ daily strike bulletin indefinite strikes are occurring in the following sectors:

• Oil refining, where the six TOTAL refineries are currently shutdown, 11 of 12 refineries in the country are affected by the strike. \
• The state rail system
• The Autonomous Operator of Parisian Transport as well as public transport in Dunkirk, Clermont -Ferrand, Poitiers, Dijon, Nancy and Marseilles
• Plants in the metallurgy, chemical and glass industries
• The Ministry of Finance
• A number of departments and museums in the Ministry of Culture.
• In a number of local government authorities across France.
• LNG terminals and ports
• Nuclear power plants
• Electricity and Gas distribution
• Education
• Postal Service

AFP reported on October 15, that 300 schools across France had been affected by student protests with clashes reported to have occurred between students and police in Paris and Caanes. In its October 15 strike Bulletin Solidaires condemned police violence directed towards high school students.

The October 19 strike will occur a day before the scheduled final vote on the Pension Bill in the Senate, the inter-union will meet on again on October 21 to plan the next initiatives in the campaign.

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Footage of National Strike Across France on October 12

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France: Massive Protests Oppose French Pensions Bill

Lisbeth Latham

Workers and students mobilised in their millions on October 12 in the fourth and largest mobilisation in the last month against laws that will reduce the pension entitlements of French workers. The protests and strikes come as the French Senate has begun passing aspects of the pension bill that will see an increase in the retirement age from 60 to 62 years of age and increase the qualifying period that workers must work to receive a full pension. The mobilisation demonstrates an increasing polarisation over who should pay the price of the economic crisis in France as the country heads towards another national strike on October 16.



As with previous protests the size of the protests has been heavily contested, with the government attempting to downplay the level of public support and unions emphasising the extent they reflect broader public anger. Unions estimate that 3.5 million people participated in 244 protests in cities and towns across France, a significant increase on the 3 million people estimated to have joined each of the previous two mobilisations on October 2 and September 23. According to AFP France’s Interior Ministry announced that with the Paris protests yet to come, half a million people had participated, substantially down from its estimates of 883, 000 and 997, 000 for October 2 and September 23 respectively. However the Interior Ministry’s final estimate was 1.23 million people.

According to unions the growth in numbers primarily came from two sources: workers in the private sector and students.

According to the Confédération générale du travail (General Confederation of Workers – CGT) substantially larger numbers of private sector workers participated in the strike, including non-union members. In some companies the rate of participation was as high as 80% of staff. One of the most significant developments was in the oil industry with strikes occurring at 11 of the country’s 12 oil refineries.

There was a substantial increase in the number of university and high school students participating in the mobilisations, with tens of thousands joining protests, and at least 400 schools closed as a consequence of staff and student action. The government has attempted to paint students as the ones with the most gain from the reduction in pension rights, arguing that it will reduce the size of the pension system that they will have to support. However students, entering the workforce will face a longer working life than their parents, and the fear that the delay in the retirement of older workers will further exacerbate France’s youth unemployment rate of 24 percent.

The media has made much of the entry of students into movement, raising the spectre of the movement of May-June ’68, however of more concern will be the more recent movement against the First Employment Contract in 2005-2006. This legislation would have dramatically reduced the rights of young people entering the work force for the first time. During this campaign students shut down their campuses for months, with almost permanent street demonstrations that were punctuated by large union protests. These mobilisations were successful in defeating the legislation.

Adding to the threat of student mobilisation, has been the decision of union members in a number of industries including oil, rail, ports and a number of government services to begin indefinite strike action. The strike by oil workers poses a real possibility of substantial fuel shortages across in the coming days.

While unions such as the CGT and Solidaires are calling for the strike movement to be spread, other unions have raised concerns that an intensification of the movement risks alienating the broader public and providing President Sarkozy with an opportunity to rebuild his flagging electoral fortunes through a shattering defeat of the unions. Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens (French Confederation of Christain Workers) has opposed indefinite strikes, and stated that the union's members in the rail system will not participate in the indefinite strikes. The BBC reported on October 12, that Francois Chereque, Secretary General of the Confédération française démocratique du travail (French Democratic Confederation of Labour - CFDT) as saying "The large majority of employees cannot afford to pay for repeated days of strikes.

However, as was been pointed out by the Trade Union Solidaires in the leadup to October 12"A few days of strikes to not lose years of free time, it's worth it, right? The strike will cost money, that's undeniable. But the implementation of this bill will cost more! Directly, through reduced pensions and indirectly through further significant reductions in the social system due to the door that would be opened by defeat on this issue".

With the government already pushing the legislation through the Senate and with the Senate approving the increase in minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 on October 8. Failure by the movement to lift the intensity of the movement is likely to find the government growing in confidence in its ability to ride out the movement. Faced with government intransigence and more than 67% public support for an intensified industrial campaign, and the momentum build up in the struggle since April, the unions are in a strong position to push the movement forward. As a statement issued by the Solidaires on October 12 says, “There is no time to lose: now is the time to harden and expand the movement to win”.

While the immediate focus of the media is on the outcome of the government’s attempt to wind back France’s welfare state, there is far more at stake. The determination of the government to cut pensions so soon after it provided massive bailouts to the banks and business to help them recover from the Global Financial Crisis, risks a far deeper radicalisation with the possibility of the unions and social movements going on the offensive if they are successful in defeating the Pension Bill.

The inter-union coordinating commitee, which has lead campaign, is scheduled to meet on October 14 to plan actions coming out of the next national strike on October 16. The response on October 16, in the wake of October 12 and the localised indefinite strike, and the actions initiated on October 14 will be important tests of the capacity of the movement to win.

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French Senate Votes to Raise Retirement Age as Unions Prepare for a Day of Strikes

Lisbeth Latham

France’s Senate passed, on October 8, the first part of the Pension Bill aimed at dramatically reducing workers retirement and pension rights. The vote came days before the fourth major mobilisation by unions, in just over a month, aimed at defeating the Bill and securing the French pension system. The Senate’s vote signals a decisive test both for the movement and France’s right wing government.

The government won the first Senate vote on the Pension Bill 186 to 153, increasing the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62. The Senate has yet to vote on the proposal to increase the age at which workers can access the full pension from 65 to 67, however amendments that will allow parents of children with disabilities, and parents of more than three children, to continue to retire at 65 have been passed. The bill had not been expected to fully passed by the until at least October 15, however as there have been some 1000 amendments made to the bill, it is expected to be held up in the Senate until later in October.

The passage of part of the Pension Bill through the Senate poses a significant test for the movement. It is possible that the vote spur the mobilisiations due to anger over the government’s continued refusal to heed public anger at attacks on pensions. However it demoralise the movement resulting in the movement dwindling. The vote could also see workers look to the June 2012 elections and the Socialist Party’s promise to overturn the Bill if it wins Government. However initial indications are that the movement will escalate in the immediate wake of the vote in the Senate. The Confédération générale du travail (General Confederation of Workers – CGT) reported on October 11, that a poll conducted over October 8 to 10 indicated that 66% of French people supported an intensification of the movement. Eighty-four percent of “left” voters supported an intensification compared to 33% of right supporters.

The inter-union coordinating committee of seven of France’s Union Confederations has called national strikes and mobilisations for October 12 and 16. The inter-union will meet again on October 14 to prepare further steps in the movement. In the statement announcing the October 16 mobilisation, the inter-union described the Government’s action in pushing through the legisalation as an attempt to diffuse the mobilisations. The statement called for the mobilisations to be broadened and expanded and for united meetings of workers in their workplaces to allow them to define the rhythm and forms of action to follow.

At the centre of the fight-back have been the workers at the Fos-Lavera Port near Marseille who have been on strike since September 27. According to the CGT the strike is focused on both defending the existing pension system and opposition to the transfer of port activities to private operators under the 2008 port reform laws. Fos-Lavera is the third largest oil port in Europe and accounts for 7% of the continent’s oil movements. As a consequence the refineries that are supplied by Fos-Lavera are operating at reduced capacity and are expected to shutdown in the next few days unless the strike ends. The CGT has called rolling strikes at all French ports starting October 12.

Other sectors are also looking to take rolling industrial action. Workers at the Donges refinery, France’s second largest oil refinery, voted on October 11 for a renewable strike starting October 12. The strike will be reviewed every two days. Once the strike is called off the plant will take two further days to become operational again.

On October 6, unions in both the state rail company SFNC and the Paris underground announced open-ended strikes beginning October 12. These will be rolling 24-hour stoppages, with the next strike being renotified prior to the expiry of the existing strike.

While the movement is expanding not all the members of the inter-inion are consistent in supporting the extension. Reuters, on October 8, reported that Jacques Voisin, President of the Confédération Française des Travailleurs Chrétiens (French Confederation of Christian Workers – CFTC) which is part of the inter-union coalition, has publicly distance the CFDT from calls for rolling strikes. This reflects that at least some of the union leaderships have been forced to make public statements of supporting more militant action based both on concerns of their members, but also the pressure of radical unions such as the Solidaires confederation, which as been advocating the preparation for an escalating general strike since the Government announced the current round of attacks on pensions.

Solidaires in a statement issued on October 11, noted that the current movement which has sustained mobilisations of more than 3 million people for a month is currently larger in size than the movement that defeated the 1995 attack on pensions. What is lacking at the moment is the intensity of action of the 1995 movement, which saw ongoing strike action for three weeks in November and December of that year. Whether the current movement is able to generate a similar level mobilisation to defeat the right’s attacks are yet to be seen but the signs are positive.

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French Protests Continue Against Attacks on Pensions

Lisbeth Latham

Millions of people joined protests across France on October 2 as part of the ongoing campaign to defeat attacks on France’s pension system. The day which had been called by a Inter-Union Coalition of seven of France’s Union Confederations, was the third national protests against the pension bill, currently before the France’s Senate, since September 7.


With the Senate vote approaching, and the French government determined shift reduce pension rights to increase the burden of economic reform being paid by working people, the size of the protests were an important test for the strength of the movement. As such the numbers mobilised have been hotly contested, just as with each of the previous days of mobilisation. France’s Interior Ministry claimed that the protests were substantially down on previous mobilisations, roughly 883, 000 compared with 997, 000 on September 23. The unions’ claimed the numbers were similar 2.9 million on October 2 compared with 3 million on September 23. While the government attempt to play down the size the protests, Capital is worried, this concern was reflected in the article published on October 4 at The Australian’s website, which raised concerns that the October 2 mobilisations had seen significant numbers of students mobilised and the possibility of a repeat of the large scale student lead mobilisations that defeated the First Employment Contract law in 2006.

Adding to the impact of the October 2 mobilisation was the ongoing strike action by port workers. On September 27, workers at Fos-Lavera port near Marseille, which is the world’s third largest oil port, began wildcat strike action blockading the port and reducing the supply of oil to the 8 refineries supplied by the port. The action at Los-Lavera was aimed at opposing both the attack on pensions and changes at the port. By October 1 the strike had spread to the majority of France’s commercial ports raising the spectre of escalating strike action similar to that which defeated attempts to reduce pension rights in 1995.

On October 4, the day before the debate in the Senate was due to begin, the inter-union coordinating committee issued a statement that identified the October 12 strikes as crucial and called on their organisations to broaden and expand their united mobilisations. The Inter-Union also announced that it would be meeting on October 8 to plan the next course of action.

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