Major French trade unions to Macron: mass protests in early 2023
Major French trade unions warned the government to revoke the pension reform decision or face mass protests starting in January 2023.
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A protester holds a sign reading “I want my retirement before arthritis” during a demonstration to protest against the pension overhauls, in Paris, on December 5, 2019, as part of a national general strike. (Getty Images)
France will see a wave of mass strikes in early 2023 if the government does not roll back its pension reform, Philippe Martinez, head of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), France's leading trade union, said on Friday.
The leader of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) Philippe Martinez warned that France will witness "mass demonstrations" at the beginning of the upcoming year in case the authorities do not pull back on the new pension system that is anticipated to go into work in the summer of 2023.
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The reform states that the retirement age in the country will go from 62 up to 65 by 2031.
Earlier in September, around 250,000 protesters took the streets to announce their opposition to raising the age of retirement and demanding an increase in the minimum wage.
"If the government does not change its stance toward the pension reform, it will face mass demonstrations at the beginning of 2023," Martinez stated to the French broadcaster BFMTV.
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The head of the CGT dismissed reports that talks are taking place with governmental trade unions, calling the reports "pure lies".
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne held a meeting earlier on Thursday with representatives of trade unions to highlight the main points of the pension reform and listen to the representative's notes on the reform, which will be formally made public on December 15, to try and avoid mass demonstrations.
French President Emmanuel Macron revealed the pension reform plan two years ago.
France's largest trade unions such as CGT, Solidaires, and FSU made a press release last Wednesday announcing their rejection of the reform aim at raising the retirement age.
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The unions also announced that they will hit the streets in January of 2023 if the government does not give in to their request.
