• Tweeter

  • republish

Protesters against pension reform join those who parade for the climate, September 21 .. REUTERS / Charles Platiau

From 6,000 to 15,000 people, according to police and organizers, marched Saturday in Paris against the pension reform wanted by the government, at the call of the only union Force Ouvriere, before another parade organized by the CGT on Tuesday.

The protesters, mostly dressed in red chaps and waving F colored flags, were walking behind a banner proclaiming "In Fence for our retreats". The procession, under a beautiful sun from the Duroc metro station was to join the place Denfert-Rochereau, through Montparnasse. The organizers were expecting some 10,000 participants.

On the banners one could read: " Macron's universal retreat is no! "," No to retirement by points "," No to endless work ", or" Maintaining the 42 existing plans, withdrawal from the Macron-Delevoye project ".

" We have no reason to question (...) what works, " FO Secretary General Yves Veyrier told reporters. " We do not want a single scheme by points, because (it) would give tomorrow all the levers of action to future governments to act on the level of pensions, and indeed on the effective age of retirement ", he added.

The leadership of FO has "not expected" to join the demonstration of the CGT Tuesday on the same subject, but "we are in contact" with the power station Philippe Martinez, said Mr. Veyrier.

Wages are not the enemies of climate and jobs! pic.twitter.com/zEMXN7WHfq

Force Ouvrière (@force_ouvriere) September 21, 2019

The reform of the pension system provides for the abolition of all special schemes for certain civil servants, employees of several large public enterprises and a handful of other professions, and their replacement by a universal point-based pension system.

This mobilization comes after that of RATP agents, lawyers, doctors and pilots who have demonstrated in recent days against the end of special regimes.

( With AFP )