Pension reforms: high school and university students join the protest

Young protesters against the pension reform in Bordeaux, March 23, 2023. AFP - PHILIPPE LOPEZ

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

In France, Thursday, March 23, more than three million people marched in the streets to oppose the pension reform. On the eve of the tenth day of mobilization, scheduled for Tuesday, March 28, the protest against the pension reform continues. In the ranks of protesters, new faces have appeared with more and more young people. Students, but also high school students join the workers.

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The blockades are likely to intensify in high schools, since the high school unions are again calling for the blockade from Monday, March 27 and for the whole week. Last Thursday, 400 high schools were blocked in France, while the general mobilization recorded a sharp rebound with more than three million people in the streets, according to the unions.

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For high school students, it is very important to be part of this movement, which is now interprofessional, intergenerational. Already because it concerns us, because we have relatives who will be very quickly concerned. We do not necessarily want to see them work even longer, in sometimes very precarious and very complicated conditions. And then, simply because this reform affects us, it is our future," explains Charlotte Moisan, of the National High School Movement (MNL).

The high school leader believes that the pension reform echoes various government measures affecting high schools: reform of the baccalaureate, reform of the vocational path... "All these new reforms that really endanger our sectors, our future professions and our retirement," she says, before continuing: "It is really a policy that is being conducted, which goes against the society we advocate. There are always more high school students who enter the mobilization, seeing how much they do not want to hear us. So we are calling for a strike and blockade all week, to show that we are all extremely determined.

« A fire that can spread quickly »

Be careful, it is not always the same dispute between young people and workers, says Christian Dufour, sociologist and expert on unionism at the Canadian Centre for Interuniversity Research on Globalization and Work (CRIMT):

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Experience shows that you can have outbreaks that are extremely localized and do not last. On the other hand, it is the kind of fire that can spread relatively quickly, he believes. What seems to be happening is that there is a shift in the theme. The theme of pensions remains, but to this has been added a political question on the regime, on the legitimacy of the practices of this government. There, indeed, there can be themes that a little everyone can add, high school students, students like others. There are plenty of themes of discontent that can actually provide fuel to light the fire that may be taking.

And the sociologist concludes: "It is clear that political parties are not up to the task at the moment. It is not known who can control this kind of movement. Incidents in this area are always local incidents that take a turn that is a national turn, which take on a national symbolism.

► Read also: Pensions in France: the key points of the reform

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