Neither the Christmas break, nor the concessions of the Government, nor the fatigue after 36 days of strike, the longest in the history of the railroad. The French unions yesterday managed to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people against the pension reform proposed by Emmanuel Macron. There were 216 demonstrations throughout the country. The one in Paris gathered 370,000 people according to the CGT union, which would be the record for the protest (according to Interior, there were 56,000 and according to a specialized cabinet hired by the French media, 44,000). The French justify the protest (61%) but want it to be over (57%) according to a poll published Thursday.
It has been the fourth day of mobilizations . The most crowded was the first, on December 5, when 806,000 protesters took to the streets, according to the Government (1.5 million according to the CGT). This Thursday, the disparity in the count widened. The unions proclaim 800,000 protesters outside Paris. Interior, less than 400,000.
In Marseille there were 22,000 protesters according to the police (220,000 according to CGT). In Toulouse, the government counted 14,000 people (the central one, 120,000). In Bordeaux some added 10,000 protesters, another 70,000. But, even considering the Government's figures for good, the protest has shown that it still has rope.
The leader of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, denounced the "provocative attitude" of the executive and doubts the negotiating will of the executive directed by Edouard Philippe. The unionist made that statement just before the start of the Parisian courtship. Together with other union leaders, he held the banner: "Retirement for points, all losers. Retirement at 60, all winners. Macron withdraws your plan."
