The Esplanade des Invalides is bathed in sunshine on Tuesday, June 6, for the 14th day of inter-union mobilization against the pension reform. Here, the demonstrators still gather timidly at midday. The attendance seems far from the record mobilizations observed for six months.
An impression confirmed by the figures given at the end of the day by the CGT, for which 300,000 people demonstrated in Paris. The police prefecture puts forward the figure of 31,000 demonstrators in the capital. Since the beginning of the movement in January, these figures are close to the two days of lowest mobilization, February 16 and March 11. On January 31, on the second day, the CGT had claimed 500,000 demonstrators in Paris, against 87,000 according to the police, the strongest mobilization in the last thirty years.
More than a month has passed since the last one, on May 1st. Water has flowed under the bridges of the nearby Seine: two decrees were published in the Official Journal on Sunday, including one postponing the retirement age from 62 to 64 years - one of the main points of tension of the pension reform.
The demonstrators are finalizing the final preparations before the demonstration against the pension reform, like this model of Emmanuel Macron carrying a pan that recalls "the breaks" of recent weeks pic.twitter.com/DEiEdiJEuY
— Jean-Luc Mounier (@mounierjl) June 6, 2023
The atmosphere is good-natured at Les Invalides and the temperature is gradually rising. The sound systems are already set to the maximum volume before the departure of the procession, the demonstrators eat at the merguez stands, sandwiches and drinks under the gaze of the police. The latter, present in number, block access to the Alexandre III bridge - which leads to the Champs-Élysées and the Élysée Palace - and the streets leading to the National Assembly.
It is there, a few hundred meters as the crow flies, that is to be debated, Thursday, the Liot bill to repeal the postponement of the legal retirement age, provided that the presidential majority does not brandish Article 40 which would make this proposal stillborn.
>> Read also: Pensions: "These maneuvers feed the discourse on the denial of democracy"
Françoise came to demonstrate, among other things, for this reason. The 64-year-old nurse, who has just been retired from the public hospital for a few months, believes that "we must defend the rights of the people in relation to government shenanigans."
Outraged by the current political situation, she adds that the executive "ensures that the Liot bill does not pass by resorting to various and varied manipulations". A reference to the multiple articles of the Constitution used by the presidential majority since the beginning of the parliamentary path of the law on pensions to circumvent a vote of the deputies on the text.
"I cried about the way the government works"
"Not resigned", Françoise wants to "continue to fight to stop the unravelling of social gains by the government." She disputes the merits of this reform by talking about her personal case: "I have health concerns, I would never have been able to work until 64 and without it I would not have been able to finish repaying the loan for my house. People must have the right to finish work at age 60. There are high-risk trades like sewers, they will be dead before 64 years old."
Near the Alexandre III bridge, the feminist collective in blue work Les Rosies gives voice. Nearby, a coffin rests vertically on the bitumen. It reads the number 64 crossed out, next to which is written: "Your new pension fund."
The feminist collective Les Rosies sets the mood for this new day of mobilization against the pension reform in Paris pic.twitter.com/fs6iqqwUZw
— Jean-Luc Mounier (@mounierjl) June 6, 2023
The procession starts shortly after 14 p.m. The unions follow one another in rows of onions on the Esplanade des Invalides for what looks like a baroud of honor, like the words of the secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, who declared, before the demonstration, that "the match is ending".
But this statement did not demotivate Christine, a member of the same union and mobilized at every day of inter-union demonstration since January. "We must mobilize, fight to the end," says the 64-year-old banker, who is retiring in a few months.
Like Françoise, she believes that "there is a problem of democracy, equality and solidarity" with this pension reform. "I cried about the way the government works," said the woman, who finds the current situation "fundamentally unfair".
A mother of four, she had to interrupt her career intermittently, "nearly ten years in total." She said: "This reform will not correct the injustice between men and women. And if we add to that the arduousness... I can see that. At my age, it's hard to hold a job, and people also often have health problems."
A placard in the procession against the pension reform in Paris, June 6, pic.twitter.com/kiVddcsR99
— Jean-Luc Mounier (@mounierjl) June 6, 2023
"Do you really think I'm going to last another ten years at work?"
The procession continues its journey in a rather festive atmosphere on the Boulevard des Invalides, then on that of Montparnasse. Demonstrators rattle kitchen instruments, a reminder of the "casserolades", while others sing: "Retirement at 60, we fought to win it, we will fight to keep it".
A few dozen meters away, at the level of the CFE-CGC, it is a fanfare atmosphere: demonstrators march with great drums. The signs are also numerous. Many point to a "denial of democracy" with the pension reform, others - more feminist - believe that "the cup is full".
At the level of the CFE-CGC, fanfare atmosphere all percussion for the demonstration against the pension reform in Paris, June 6, pic.twitter.com/sWGvFvlpLm
— Jean-Luc Mounier (@mounierjl) June 6, 2023
"There is a political drift that is difficult to dispute at the moment," says Julien, workshop coordinator. At 54, he mobilized for the first time in the streets this year on the occasion of the protest against the pension reform. This is its third manifestation. "Do you really think I'm going to last another ten years at work?" he asks, pointing to the various injuries he has had during his career. "Making the elderly work longer is a red herring."
In the procession, covers of famous hits follow one another at the microphone. The lyrics were hijacked for the occasion. One protester chants: "64 is still no" on the chorus of "Get Lucky" (by Daft Punk). Later, another sings while taking over DJ (of Diam's): "Let me like the vibes in retirement, I'm not in the mood to repay your debt."
Julien, for his part, finds that "there are not many people today, it saddens me." Coming to Paris to "make the number", he does not resign himself on the outcome of the challenge to the pension reform, but slips: "The problem of a large part of the French is that they are resigned."
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