According to the statistics of the Ministry of the Interior, 480,000 people took part in the demonstrations across the country, and according to the organizers, 1.7 million people.
In the mass events that accompanied the previous days of protest, more than a million people took to the streets across the country, According to the authorities and organizers, on the sixth day of the protest, March 7, participation set a record. The police told us that 1.28 million people, according to the CGT trade union, 3.5 million, protested in more than two hundred cities. But on the seventh day, Saturday, participation was already decreasing when, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior, 368 thousand people protested.
The rolling strike of the strategic sectors, which began more than a week ago, mainly affects oil refineries and waste transportation, But fewer and fewer people are hitting the railroad and public transport. The majority of Paris metro and bus stations operate on a normal schedule, and a third of trains started on Wednesday.
On the other hand, 7,600 tons of garbage accumulated in the streets of Paris on Wednesday evening, but in many western cities, such as Rennes, Le Havre and Nantes, mountains of garbage also covered the streets due to the ninth day of Ramadan. Strike by waste carriers.
Because of the health risks, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin ordered the prefecture of Paris to invite the Paris municipality to oblige some employees of the public cleaning company to start working.. The Labor Code provides for this in emergency situations. According to the BFM news television, the head of the ministry personally contacted Annie Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, on Tuesday evening for this purpose, who indicated that the task of “seizing” the waste carriers is not hers, but that of the state. According to press reports, the city manager told the Minister of the Interior that he would in no way oblige them to employ them, and “advise the government to continue dialogue with the strikers instead of using force.”
There are rules, basic public services must be provided to the population
– said government spokesman Olivier Ferrand on Europe1 commercial radio on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the waste haulers announced that they will extend their strike until 20 March.
Based on the surveys, 70 percent of the French support the protest against raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, and 60 percent also agree to strike in strategic sectors.
The mixed committee of both houses of parliament, where the head of state’s party and the pro-reform right-wing opposition make up the majority, finalized the reform text on Wednesday, and then the Senate – which it had already done. He approved the reform on Sunday morning – it will be voted on for the first time on Thursday, and in the afternoon the House of Representatives, the National Assembly, where the outcome of the vote is uncertain because the ruling party is in the minority.
Emmanuel Macron noted on Wednesday evening: Currently, the government is not implementing Article 49.3 of the Constitution, on the basis of which it will not submit the reform to a final parliamentary vote. According to the law, the bill is considered approved by the House of Representatives in the event that the majority of ministers agree to override the vote, and within 24 hours after that, the motion of no confidence does not move the government. The government also used this solution to approve the budget in the fall.
Cover image is illustration, source: Getty Images
