Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

2.5mln protest Macron pension reform plan, 'standstill' looming

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 11 Feb 2023 22:45
3 Min Read

French unions warn that they would call for a national strike that would "bring France to a standstill" if Macron's pension reform plan is not dropped.

  • x
  • France
    Protesters march against French President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, Paris, Feb. 11 (AP)

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in France on Saturday in a fourth day of action against French President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, with unions warning they would ramp up strikes if the plan is not dropped.

NEW 🚨 Massive pension reform protest in Paris, Francepic.twitter.com/vSdb4iEtUo

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) February 11, 2023

Unlike on the three previous protest days, there was no call for a day of nationwide strikes, although air traffic controllers at Paris' second airport staged a surprise walkout that left half of the flights canceled.

Macron and his government face a double battle to raise the pension age from 62 to 64, overcoming resistance on the streets as well as pushing the legislation through parliament.

The CGT union said 500,000 people protested in Paris alone, and over 2.5 million nationwide.

The French Ministry of Interior, which generally gives much lower numbers, claimed there were 963,000 protesters nationwide and 93,000 in Paris.

Other French cities also witnessed protests, with images on television showing police using water cannons in the western city of Rennes.

Protesters in the French capital took the traditional protest route from Republique Square to Nation Square, behind a banner saying, "No to working longer!"

Nearly 1 million protest pension reforms across France https://t.co/3umdtGHGmH pic.twitter.com/B6L8tKHt8h

— New York Post (@nypost) February 11, 2023

Related News

UEFA cancels Tottenham's game against Rennes

Tensions rose when a car and a bin were overturned and set on fire, prompting shield-wielding police and the fire brigade to intervene.

Read more: 1.27 - 2.8 million French protesters march against Macron reform plan

National strike that would 'bring France to a standstill'

The march was led by the leaders of France's eight main unions. The unions warned in a joint statement that they would call for a national strike that would "bring France to a standstill" on March 7 -- when the text of the bill is due in France's upper house -- if the government "remained deaf to the popular mobilization."

Another day of protests and strikes is planned on February 16.

The leader of the hardline CGT, Philippe Martinez, pointed out that "the ball is in the court of the president and the government to determine if the movement intensifies and hardens or if they take into account the current mobilization."

Laurent Berger, the head of the CFDT union, a more moderate group the government hoped would take a different line, considered that the timetable would give time to the government if it wants to react. 

In the same context, unions representing workers on the Paris RATP public transport system called for a rolling strike from March 7.

"Despite the rejection by a very large majority of the population, the government remains intent on its brutal, unfair and unjustified reform," they said.

Speaking in Brussels, Macron last week urged unions to show a "spirit of responsibility" and "not block the life of the rest of the country."

It is noteworthy that the French President's ruling party also faces a challenge to push the legislation through parliament where it lost its overall majority in elections last year.

Read more: Macron should prepare for an early retirement: Spiked

  • Rennes
  • Emmanuel Macron
  • French unions
  • France
  • pension reform

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS