Home>>

Fewer French protest against pension reform during 5th general strike

(Xinhua) 13:12, February 17, 2023

People participate in a protest against a pension reform in Paris, France, on Feb. 16, 2023. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua)

PARIS, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Some 440,000 people across France demonstrated on Thursday against the government's pension reform project, the French Ministry of Interior said on Thursday.

However, compared with the four general strikes held since Jan. 19, Thursday's nationwide demonstration had the lowest participation rate, given the fact that a large part of France is on school holidays.

Nevertheless, according to the CGT, France's largest union, some 1.3 million people took to the streets on Thursday. The CGT announced that 300,000 people marched in Paris, although the Paris Prefecture counted 37,000.

Many public and private sectors in France also protested on Thursday, but the strike rate dropped considerably.

Only 14 percent of staff at France's national railway SNCF went on strike on Thursday, and only one in five high-speed trains was canceled.

The strike rate in state public service also decreased, to 4.9 percent among some 2.5 million civil servants. Only 7.67 percent of teachers were on strike, according to the Ministry of National Education.

Main unions in France have already called on workers to "bring France to a halt in all sectors on March 7" if the government and the parliament refuse to listen to the population.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne laid out details of the pension reform plan in January, which would progressively raise the legal retirement age by three months a year from 62 to 64 by 2030, and introduce a guaranteed minimum pension.

Starting in 2027, the plan would also require at least 43 years of work to be eligible for a full pension.