Paris (AFP)

Black Thursday especially in transport, J-1: railway workers, teachers, students, police, lawyers are preparing to mobilize alongside unions, opposition parties and "yellow vests" against the future pension reform, that the executive is determined to bring it to an end.

Are unions opposed to the future "universal system" of pensions, supposed to replace the 42 existing regimes, will they "replay 95" and its three weeks of strikes against the reform of special regimes?

Those of the railway workers who call for unlimited movement promise in all cases a demonstration of strength, at least for the day of Thursday, which promises to be trying for rail users, and probably beyond.

At the headquarters of SNCF, it is estimated that the movement should last until December 12, at which time Prime Minister Edouard Philippe could specify the project expected in Parliament in early 2020.

According to the national railway company, 90% of TGVs and 80% of TERs will be canceled on Thursday, when RATP announces an "extremely disturbed" traffic with 11 closed metro lines, more than during the previous strike, which had almost paralyzed the capital on September 13th.

In the sky, Air France has canceled 30% of its domestic flights, 15% of medium-haul, and EasyJet 233 domestic and medium-haul flights.

On the public service side, the teachers will not be outdone: the Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, can ensure that their retirement pensions "will not fall", the strike rate will be 55% in schools (78% in Paris), and only "30% of schools can provide" a minimum service of reception, he announced Wednesday.

The discontent will also be expressed in the street, with 245 rallies and demonstrations declared throughout France, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner.

Anticipating the presence of "a few hundred" "black blocks" and "yellow vests radical" in the Parisian procession, "maybe a few thousand" throughout the country, the minister announced that "several thousand" police and gendarmes would be mobilized.

In Paris, the police prefecture decided to close all the shops on the route (Gare de l'Est-Nation).

Attention "to respect the right to demonstrate", warned Wednesday the head of France Insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, declaring itself "totally hostile to the violence that invisibilises the social movement".

- "A place for discussions" -

Unusual to beat the pavement, the CFE-CGC will demonstrate on Thursday, the CFTC has left its unions "free" to rally, unsa federations will gather before Bercy ... And the CFDT-Cheminots, against the tide of its central , calls for an indefinite strike.

Among the organizations behind the interprofessional strike (CGT, FO, FSU, Solidarity, Unef, Fidl, MNL and Unl), we are already thinking about the after: an inter-union is scheduled Friday to consider the future. In the notable absence of the CFDT, which favors a "universal", "more readable" and "fairer" pension system, although opposed to the measures envisaged by the executive to lengthen working hours. deficits.

RATP, SNCF, Air France, EDF, heavyweights, lawyers, teachers, nurseries ... The movement has grown over the weeks, extending to "yellow vests", but also to the Socialist Party, the PCF , to insubordinate France and the National Gathering.

In an already tense social context, the executive chained the meetings, including a government seminar Sunday Matignon.

High Commissioner for pensions Jean-Paul Delevoye, who has been consulting for two years with employers and unions, has accelerated the tempo to finish the rounds before Thursday and submit his proposals on 9 or 10 December.

Firmness remains in place, Emmnanuel Macron having warned that he would not "give up" his campaign promise, when Edouard Philippe said "more determined than ever".

But "there is a place for discussions," assured the Minister of Transport Élisabeth Borne, while a postponement of the application of the new system after 2025 is particularly on the table.

The Prime Minister "said he was ready to put in long transition times (...) without going as far as the grandfather's clause which was to bring the reform simply on the new entrants" said Secretary of State for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari.

© 2019 AFP