From Jacobin Magazine, March 17:
Jean-Luc Mélenchon: France’s Pension Battle Isn’t Over
Yesterday’s protest in parliament and on the streets proved that
Emmanuel Macron has no majority to increase the pension age. In a speech
reprinted here, France Insoumise leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon argues that
popular mobilization must keep going to build pressure for a
no-confidence vote.
Yesterday, as
French prime minister Élisabeth Borne stood up to address members of the
National Assembly, left-wing MPs booed — and then began to sing “La Marseillaise.”
The national anthem rang out in protest at Borne’s announcement that
her government will be forcing through its plan to raise the retirement
age, without allowing a vote. It will instead resort to a controversial
provision called 49.3, now likely to prompt a motion of no confidence in
her administration.
Already in last June’s elections, the parties who support neoliberal
president Emmanuel Macron lost their majority in parliament. One reason
was his plan to force the French to work two more years before
retirement — a measure strongly opposed by the parties of the Nouvelle Union Populaire Écologique et Sociale (NUPES), the single largest opposition group.
In recent weeks, and in particular through rolling strikes that began
on March 7 in such diverse sectors as rail and garbage collection, the
French people have shown massive opposition to the bill. While Macron
and his prime minister Borne had hoped that votes from members of the
conservative Republican party would be enough to create an ad hoc
majority from the bill, even their own MPs have proven brittle faced
with popular pressure. Despite government claims, the rise in the
pension age is widely criticized as unnecessary from a budgetary standpoint , and opinion polls show large majorities of French people are opposed .
The government has not won over public opinion, and has had to resort
to a crude measure to force through its bill. Yet, it is far from
certain that this will be enough to bring it down, or even force fresh
elections. Trade unions have called further mobilizations, with the next
day of action planned for Thursday, March 23.
Yesterday evening, Jean-Luc Mélenchon addressed supporters on the fallout of the day’s events and the battles that lie ahead. This text is a lightly edited translation of his comments....
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