Paris (AFP)
No respite from the transport strike this weekend, with demonstrations planned in certain cities: the government now fears that the social movement against its pension reform will mortgage the end-of-year celebrations.
The government's "Monsieur pensions", Jean-Paul Delevoye, will he go through with this reform? Weakened by accusations of conflict of interest with the world of insurance, a combination of functions prohibited by the Constitution, but also the presidency of the Regional Observatory of Public Order of Hauts-de-France, according to his entourage, the top - Commissioner did not rule out resigning to preserve the reform.
On the tenth day of mobilization, the situation was still critical for transport users with "very disturbed" traffic at SNCF, on average one TGV in four and three TER in ten, and, for Paris and its region, nine lines metro stations closed and 60% of buses in circulation according to RATP.
For Sunday, the forecast is similar, and service will also be "heavily disrupted" on Monday.
Ten days before Christmas, the outcome of the movement before the end of the year remains uncertain and the question of train traffic during the holidays is on everyone's lips.
If the strike continues in the coming days, it could jeopardize departures on vacation because it takes several days after the end of a movement to return to normal service.
"Half of the travelers" will have trains to be able to spend the holidays with family, wanted to reassure Saturday the general manager of Voyages SNCF, Rachel Picard, quoted in the Parisian.
The day before, in an emergency meeting in Matignon, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe asked SNCF boss Jean-Pierre Farandou to prepare a "transport plan" specifying which trains would be maintained.
Farandou had earlier called the rail workers, on an indefinite strike since December 5, to "take a break" during the holidays, immediately drawing criticism from union officials.
- Playing on the sensitive chord -
"If the government wants the conflict to end before the holidays, it has all the next week to make the necessary common sense decision: the withdrawal of the reform by points," reacted to AFP Laurent Brun, secretary general of CGT-Cheminots, the first SNCF union, rejecting any idea of a "truce".
"The situation can be fixed very quickly. But for the trains to run, there must be a positive message from the government," said Roger Dillenseger (Unsa Rail) on Franceinfo, criticizing the executive who "plays on the sore rope". ".
Side demonstrations Saturday, a small group of thirty yellow vests chanting "We are there" invaded a shopping mall in Nantes, which had to be closed, while rallies were planned in Strasbourg, Lyon or Rennes.
But the opponents of the reform reserve their forces for the new day of mobilization scheduled for Tuesday at the call of the inter-union CGT / FO / CFE-CGC / Solidaires / FSU and four youth organizations, demanding an outright withdrawal.
Furious that the government announced an "age of equilibrium" at 64 years, below which one will not touch his full retirement, the first French union, the CFDT, but also the CFTC and Unsa also called to demonstrate, which should make the ranks grow.
Railway workers, students, civil servants, health professionals, lawyers, magistrates, teachers called to take to the streets.
Very mobilized since the beginning of the conflict, the latter obtained on Friday from the government the guarantee of salary increases, for an "effort" of around 10 billion euros. The Minister of Education has not specified a start date or the time it will take to be completed.
The police, they suspended their movement Friday, after having obtained the maintenance of their derogatory regime, allowing to retire earlier, because of the dangerousness of the profession.
The Prime Minister invited the most reformist unions on Thursday evening to discussions in Matignon, "as soon as possible next week".
The government, however, shows its determination to pursue its reform. Edouard Philippe assured Friday during a debate against teachers near Nancy that he was "absolutely not afraid to (lead) this reform", "or reactions".
Almost silent since the start of the conflict, Emmanuel Macron has defended him from Brussels "a historic reform", which is not "above all budgetary", as the trade unions say.
© 2019 AFP