Unions in France on Tuesday praised the "historic" mobilization to protest the controversial pension reform that President Emmanuel Macron wants, as 1.27 million people participated in the mobilization day, according to the authorities, while the organizers spoke of 2.5 million demonstrators.
Unions in France on Tuesday hailed the "historic" mobilization to protest the controversial pension reform that President Emmanuel Macron wants, with train delays, school closures, extendable strikes, no waste collection and fuel trucks stopping at refinery entrances.
In an attempt to push the government to abandon the project, and before the possible extension of the strikes in the coming days, the unions are collectively trying to stop the life cycle, Tuesday, in France. It is expected to continue moving on Saturday, March 11th.
The Secretary General of the CFDT union (reformist) Laurent Berger welcomed a "historic mobilization" 40 or 50 years ago, with the participation of more than "20%" of the January 31 demonstrators.
According to the authorities, 1.27 million people participated in the mobilization day, while the organizers spoke of 2.5 million demonstrators.
Berger considered that the government "cannot remain deaf" to this mobilization.
While his counterpart in the CGT union, Felipe Martinez, confirmed to him before the start of the demonstration in Paris, "This will be the strongest day of mobilization since the beginning" of the movements.
As the Senate prepared to adopt the text, the demonstrators were still hoping to be able to influence, such as Audrey Sevadon (27 years), an engineer who went out to demonstrate in Bonn (center-east) and said: "We still have a glimmer of hope, otherwise we wouldn't be here."
All over France the processions were packed to a level comparable to the record mobilization of January 31st.
Between 6,000 (according to the police) and 30,000 (according to the unions) participated in Nice (southeast), between 13,000 and 23,000 in Bayonne (southwest), and between 30,000 and 245,000 in Marseille.
A few altercations and throwing of projectiles were reported, particularly in Paris and Lyon (east) and Rennes (west), where police used water bombs.
A total of about 10,500 police and gendarmes were mobilized in France on Tuesday, including 4,200 in Paris.
Barriers and power outages
On the other hand, the percentage of strikers was slightly less than the highest rates recorded since the beginning of the movement, among railway workers (39% compared to 46.3% on January 19) as well as among teachers.
In all government departments, one out of four employees went on strike, compared to 28%, on the first day of the movement on January 19. A strike also took place in universities and secondary schools.
Roadblocks were erected and major power outages were recorded in the north. On Tuesday morning, fuel shipments were prevented from leaving "all French refineries", according to a trade union source.
On the sixth day of movements since January 19 against this reform, many sectors were affected by the strike, from energy to transportation to trade and waste collection.
Transport between France and Britain was also affected, with dozens of flights and train cancellations and delays in ferries.
This week will witness other moves in parallel with the discussions of the French Senate on the reform project. The government is counting on the bill being passed by the Senate by Sunday and on a "March 16 vote" in both houses of the French parliament.
A government source said, "If the reform is approved, it is unlikely that the mobilization will remain at this level," counting on the withdrawal of the most moderate unions.
Opponents of reform denounce an "unjust" project that harms workers who perform hard work in particular. Opinion polls show the majority of French reject the project.
Frequent opinion polls show that the French, by a large majority, oppose reform, although they believe it will eventually be approved.
Emmanuel Macron is betting a large part of his political assets on this prominent measure in his second term, which indicates the desire he expressed for reform, but today it reflects the resentment of some of the French towards him.
France is one of the European countries where the retirement age is among the lowest.
France Strikes against the project to amend the retirement system and paralysis in most sectors
Thousands of French demonstrators participated on Tuesday in a general strike to protest the draft amendment to the retirement system, which led to paralysis in most sectors.
Strikes swept across France on Tuesday against a controversial pension reform bill, local media reported.
The strikes and protests, in which thousands of demonstrators participated in several cities, led to the disruption of transport, the closure of some schools, the accumulation of waste, and the stopping of fuel trucks, according to the "France 24" website.
Transport between France and Britain was also affected, with the cancellation of dozens of flights and train lines, and delays in sea ferry schedules.
And the national railway company canceled 80% of domestic flights, while reducing or stopping international flights between France, Germany, Spain and Britain, according to the site.
The most prominent amendment to the retirement system provides for delaying the retirement age from 62 currently to 64 years, at a time when France is facing escalating crises due to the high rate of aging in the country.
Transportation also witnessed a disruption in the Paris metro, as movement was no longer normal except on lines 1 and 14.
In terms of air traffic, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation asked companies to reduce their flight schedules by 20% to 30% on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The site indicated that 32.71% of primary and secondary school teachers participated in the strike, according to the Ministry of Education.
But the Snuipp-FSU and Snes-FSU unions said strike rates among teachers are at least 60%.
It is expected that a new meeting will be held on Tuesday evening to decide on how to continue the moves against the project, according to the site.
The French government insists on not backing down from raising the retirement age to 64 years.
The trade unions, the bulk of the opposition forces, and a large majority of the French, according to opinion polls, reject the main clause in this reform, which provides for postponing the retirement age from 62 to 64 years.
A Hungarian parliamentary delegation calls on Sweden to respect its country and stop spreading "lies"
A Hungarian parliamentary delegation called on Sweden to respect his country and stop spreading "lies" regarding the rule of law in it.
The head of a Hungarian parliamentary delegation confirmed on Tuesday that Budapest supports Sweden's accession to NATO, calling on Swedish political officials to stop spreading "lies" about Hungary and the rule of law in it.
Hungary is the only country, besides Turkey, whose parliament has not ratified Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO. It is expected to vote in favor of entering the two Scandinavian countries "in the coming weeks," said the deputy speaker of the Hungarian parliament, Csaba Hinde, to reporters.
The latter added: "We started our discussion last week and usually when everything goes well, such discussions end within a few weeks."
Repeated delays in Hungarian ratification in recent months have raised concerns in Sweden and Finland, whose accession is also being blocked by Turkey.
According to the website of the Hungarian Parliament, the ratification decision, initially scheduled for March 6-9, has been postponed to March 20 at the earliest.
Hendy met other Hungarian deputies on Tuesday morning, the speaker of the Swedish parliament, as part of a "courtesy visit" to ratify the Swedish and Finnish nominations.
"The visit was warm and friendly, it charted the horizons of a new beginning," Hendy said.
He continued, "We have said clearly that the Hungarian government, the president and most of the deputies support Sweden's accession to NATO."
He considered it "necessary" for the improvement of "bilateral relations" between Stockholm and Budapest.
He added, "There should be more respect for Hungary," without specifying what "lies" the Swedish side is accused of spreading.
He called on Swedish officials to "avoid portraying Hungary in a false image" and "to refrain from talking about the absence of the rule of law, which is an image based on baseless facts."
One of Stockholm's fears is that Hungary is using its request to join NATO as a tool in its battle with the European Union.
In December, Brussels decided to freeze billions of euros in EU funds pending anti-corruption reforms, after a long standoff with Budapest.
Since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the position of the Hungarian government was also characterized by ambiguity and refrained from criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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