France hardens the tone on the street against Macron's pension reform: "We do not want to die working"

Josie is 84 years old and has arrived at the demonstration in Paris against Emmanuel Macron's pension reform by walking with her canes from the nearest open metro stop.

On the journey on foot, about 40 minutes, she says that she recently celebrated her golden anniversary as a feminist.

"I have been a militant for 50 years.

I went to those for abortion, those for progress in the 70s and 80s, and now I go to all those against Macron's reform," she says.

Today is

against the unpopular reform of the president to delay the retirement age from the current 62 years to 64. 70% of French oppose it.

The Government has already made it clear that it is not going to give in.

In this pulse, the French believe that they can make the government back down with street protests and blockades.

"I come here out of solidarity with the new generations, so

that my generation has achieved," explains this octogenarian protester, who worked for years as a secretary at the newspaper Le Monde.

"Macron raises taxes for middle-class citizens and lowers them for the rich. He says he is from the center, but he is from the right!", she protests.

Josie, feminist and anti-macronista, at the Paris R demonstration.

v.

Today 's

in the direction of Les Invalides, along the

, the left bank of the Seine.

According to the unions

a figure higher than that of January 19, the first day of the strike.

So, in the more than 150 protests that took place in the different cities of France there were 1.2 million protesters.

In Paris there have been some incidents, the police have had to charge against the demonstrators and

.

The unions wanted today to improve the numbers of participants to put pressure on the Government and try to get it to retouch its reform.

Something that, the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, reiterated today, is not going to happen.

The essential thing, the retirement age at 64, is inalienable.

The project, which has already reached the Assembly,

who is already viewed negatively by almost 70%, according to a survey published today.

The liberal reforms that he has led since he came to power have earned him the reputation of "president of the rich."

In fact, the pensions postponed it because the Covid broke out.

The Government justifies that this change is necessary to balance the system, since

.

The IMF itself has valued it positively.

France is one of the countries in Europe with the earliest retirement.

massive

The general secretary of the CFDT union, Laurent Berger, pointed out this afternoon that the demonstration was more massive than that of January 19.

"Reform of Borne's pensions. Let her retire!" says one of the banners, referring to the prime minister, who is 61 years old.

"Let him retire," says a man holding a banner

Josie carries her multi-banner on her, where she has several slogans stapled with her reproaches to Macron: pension reform, inequality between men and women and the need for a tax on the rich.

He reminds her that he was only elected with 23% of the vote, in reference to the first round of the presidential elections, in which he was finally re-elected.

"Fear is a bad adviser, people had Le Pen and that's why he won," he says.

The protest in Paris is dominated

"80 billion profits from CAC 40 companies (the stock market index) and there is no money for pensions," says one of the protesters.

mottos .

"The big businessmen get rich, let them pay the pensions!" Says another.

"They say you have to save, but they do it at the expense of public services," says a teacher who marches along with several classmates.

The other theme that predominates in the banners is the one that implies that 64 years is already a late age.

"

," says the message carried by a Paris Airport worker, who demonstrates with several colleagues.

Another protester carries a cardboard coffin on his back: RIP (unexpected and precarious retirement, in the French acronym).

The one in Paris is the most massive but they have also taken to the streets in Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse and more than a hundred cities.

Interior expects 1.2 million protesters at most throughout France.

If there have been fewer public workers on strike (one in four teachers, according to the government, and 36.5% of SNCF workers), between 75% and 100% of the staff at refineries and fuel depots TotalEnergies joined the strike, according to the CGT, reports EFE.

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