Paris (AFP)

And four: the unions demanding the withdrawal of the pension reform, led by the CGT and FO, organize Thursday a new inter-professional day of strikes and demonstrations, in a standoff with the executive which has lasted for more than a month .

All eyes will be on the extent of the mobilization.

On December 5, on the first day of the movement, between 806,000 (Interior Ministry) and 1.8 million (CGT) people had hit the pavement, a score that was not equaled on December 10 and 17.

The CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, FSU, Solidaires, Unef and UNL are demanding "the withdrawal of the reform project to open constructive negotiations to improve the current regime".

Since the start of the crisis, concessions have already been made by the executive to several trades, such as the police, opera dancers, sailors, pilots ...

The inter-union camping on its position of outright withdrawal of the text, "unjust" and deadly ", the executive rather tries to coax the CFDT, favorable to the principle of a" universal "system by points unifying the 42 current regimes , but focused on the pivotal age at 64 years.

At the start of the week, Edouard Philippe reached out to Laurent Berger by proposing a "financing conference", suggested by the leader cédétiste. He invited the social partners on Friday to talk about the "mandate of this conference" and the "deadline that will be granted" to find solutions.

The CFDT has received this "sign of openness", said Mr. Berger Wednesday, while judging that we were "still far from an agreement".

"We want this funding conference to be launched and to be clear on the outlines of what will be its responsibility, but that only makes sense if there is an abandonment in the bill that is presented , of pivotal age, "he said.

To maintain the tension, the first French union launched a petition at the start of the week against the pivotal age and is planning rallies on Saturday across France. The same day, the intersyndicale opposed to the reform will organize a fifth day of mobilization.

- employer contributions -

The continuation of the movement will be decided at a meeting Thursday, after the Parisian demonstration, which will leave in the early afternoon from Place de la République, towards the Saint-Augustin church. Other events will take place throughout France.

On the financing of the pension system, the CGT shares a request with the CFDT: that the increase in employer contributions be put on the table for consultation on Friday. No question for the employers.

Since December 5, the tension has not subsided, particularly in transport (SNCF and RATP), with an uninterrupted strike for 36 days, the longest for SNCF since its creation in 1938. In 2018, the railway workers had led 36 days of strike against the reform of the SNCF, but at the rate of two days of work stoppage in five.

The railway group, which called on Ile-de-France residents to avoid commuter trains on Thursday, forecasts "very disrupted" traffic, with 60% of TGVs, 40% of TER and one third of Transiliens in circulation. Same as RATP, with "highly disrupted" traffic.

For its part, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) anticipates possible "disturbances and delays" in the air. It asked the companies to cancel a third of the scheduled flights to and from Toulouse airport.

Apart from transport, strikes are continuing in other sectors, in particular among lawyers and in refineries, as well as in national education.

By the time the bill is presented to the Council of Ministers on January 24, the reform work continues, with scheduled meetings between unions and members of the government, particularly on the arduousness or employment of seniors.

In the civil service, the concertation ended on Wednesday: the CGT, the CFE-CGC and the FSU slammed the door of the meeting on arduousness organized by the Secretaries of State Olivier Dussopt and Laurent Pietraszewski.

© 2020 AFP