"I think there will be as many people, in any case I wish", declared Monday on France 2 the secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, on the front line against the reform since its presentation on January 10.

"We hope to do even stronger on 31," said his CGT counterpart, Philippe Martinez, last week.

Withdrawn on this file, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, who is partly playing his five-year term on this reform, deemed it "indispensable" on Monday during a press conference in The Hague.

This time, 1.2 million demonstrators are expected at the high end, including 100,000 in Paris, according to a police source.

Processions should again be provided in small towns.

“I am striking in support, because whatever happens I will leave late, 67 years old to have a comfortable retirement (…) I think it is a movement that goes beyond retirement. is also about a certain vision of society", testified Monday to AFP Martine Beugnet, university professor, 59 years old.

Eleven thousand police and gendarmes will be mobilized, including 4,000 in Paris, announced Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, wishing that the marches take place as 12 days ago "without serious incident".

One thousand to two thousand yellow vests and 200 to 400 ultras are expected in the capital.

"Membership declines"

The strike promises to be very popular in transport and education.

Metro and RER traffic will be "very disrupted" in the Paris region, as will that of the TGV.

The situation should be even more difficult for regional trains, and Intercity traffic will be almost at a standstill.

Gare du Nord, Monday evening, users oscillated between dissatisfaction and understanding, many being able to telecommute.

"I have nothing against the strike, but it has to be framed. It was supposed to start at 7:00 p.m. and yet my train is cancelled. Hello galley! (...) I'm going to telecommute the rest of the week but we don't There is no teleworking indefinitely”, explained Delphine Martin, bank executive, 46 years old.

Pension reform: course of the demonstration in Paris © / AFP

The teachers' unions foresee 50% of strikers among the teachers, from kindergarten to high school.

An inter-union must meet from 6:00 p.m. at the headquarters of FO to decide on the follow-up to the movement, and probably announce at least a new day of mobilization.

The CGT, FO and Solidaires want renewable strikes, as some unions have already decided, for example in energy and education.

"The Prime Minister cannot remain deaf to this formidable mobilization which was created on the 19th", estimated Laurent Berger on Monday.

Caught between the mobilization of the street and the virulence of the opposition in the Assembly, where the project has been debated since Monday, the government hardened its tone this weekend, Mr. Darmanin denouncing "the deep contempt for the value of work " of part of the left, and the will of rebellious France to "mess up" the debate.

Elisabeth Borne played the card of firmness, affirming that the decline in age was "no longer negotiable", even if measures in favor of women, more impacted by the reform than men, are envisaged.

Archive photo taken on January 19, 2023 showing the entrance to the Montparnasse metro in Paris, closed due to a strike against the pension reform © STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP/Archives

On Monday, the leader of the LFI deputies, Mathilde Panot, replied to him that "the withdrawal of the text is not negotiable", seeing the demonstrations on Tuesday as a "motion of popular censure".

For the executive, the battle of opinion "is very badly started", according to Frédéric Dabi, of the Ifop polling institute.

"As the French become aware of the reform, membership is declining" in the polls, he said on Radio Orient on Sunday.

© 2023 AFP