French protesters take to the streets for a second time in a month
By Matej Hruska
A new round of protests against President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to reform the country's pension system hit France Thursday (23 September), with both the government and unions declaring victory regarding turn-out.
While police figures put the number of people marching in the more than 230 protests at 997,000 nationwide, down from 1.1 million two weeks ago, unions organising the protests said 3 million people took part, up from 2.7 million. The national railway, SNCF, said 37.1 percent of its workers went on strike, compared to 42.9 percent two weeks ago.
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A statement from the president's office said Thursday the figures showed that "either the French feel that all this is behind them or they're more in favour of the reform, or both."
"There is a deceleration of the protests," Labour Minister Eric Woerth said on France 2 television. "There were fewer demonstrations, fewer strikers. These measures will be voted in parliament, and they will be enacted."
The unions' leaders, who are to meet Friday to plan their next actions, disputed the official figures, claiming a rise in support of opposition to reform plans, which they see as "unfair and unacceptable".
"Our bet has paid off," said François Chérèque, head of the CFDT union. "Today there are more protesters than last time."
Despite the protests, the pension bill was adopted by the National Assembly, the lower house of France's parliament, last week, with minor concessions made after the first round of demonstrations at the beginning of September.
Mr Woerth said the government may consider some concessions for handicapped workers and unemployed people who are close to retirement, but that it insists on raising the minimum retirement age to 62 from 60 by 2018 and raising the age at which people are entitled to a full pension to 67 from 65.
A debate in the Senate, which also has to approve the bill, is to start on 5 October. Senators from president's centre-right party said Monday (20 September) they would propose concessions allowing slightly earlier retirement in some cases for women who have regularly interrupted their careers to give birth.
More protests around the Europe
Similar protests are set to take place in several countries in Europe in the coming weeks. Spanish unions have called for a general strike to protest against austerity cuts and labour reform on 29 September while Greece's public sector umbrella union ADEDY said Tuesday (21 September) that it has called for a mass 24 hour strike on 7 October.
Bulgaria's doctors union has scheduled a nationwide protest rally for 15 October to protest against what they say is the under-financing of the healthcare system after the finance ministry's hospital financing proposal fell short of expectations last week.