French workers, trade unions gear up for mass mobilization against pension reform on Labor Day

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – Workers and trade unions in France are gearing up to take to the streets on International Workers' Day to protest the government’s pension reform.

Workers' outrage over the government's pension reform has not subsided since January, with trade unions vowing to hold another day of mass mobilization on International Labor Day across France.

People have started to gather in the cities of Nantes, Lyon, Marseille, and Strasbourg, with a big rally set to begin in the afternoon in Paris, the French daily Le Figaro reported.

The French Interior Ministry will deploy 12,000 policemen across the country, including 5,000 in Paris, as authorities expect up to 650,000 protesters in 380 rallies in a single day, the media outlet said.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin also expressed support for the use of drones for surveillance purposes in a text message sent to local authorities, the daily reported, citing a source.

Meanwhile, traffic on the state-owned railway company SNCF appears to be normal, though flights have been canceled as a result of the workers' decision to strike on Monday.

A third of the flights were canceled at Paris-Orly, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes, and Toulouse airports, while 25% were canceled at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle and Nice airports.

- Pension reform law​​​​​​​

President Emmanuel Macron signed the bill late April 14 after the Constitutional Council completed its review, despite demands from trade unions to drop the measure that has triggered weeks of protests.

The law will raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, requiring at least 43 years of service to be eligible for a full pension.

The government unveiled the proposal in January and it was taken up for parliamentary debate the following month even as millions took to the streets to oppose it.

Unrest intensified when Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, after consulting with Macron, decided to use special constitutional powers to adopt the bill without parliamentary approval in March.

The decision was motivated by concerns that lawmakers would be able to stymie the reforms because the government lacked an absolute majority in parliament.

The law is set to go into effect on Sept. 1.​​​​​​​