By Theo Russell
On 6th
February in Paris I joined a national day of protest, the latest stage in the
two-month long battle between president Macron and the unions over pension
reforms. That week a parliamentary committee began considering the draft law,
which faces 22,000 amendments.
At Place de la République and Place de la Nation the
atmosphere was infectious, with singing, groups of musicians, vans playing
everything from old workers’ songs to high-energy French rap, and drummers
keeping a tradition dating back to the 1789 revolution.
Travelling on ahead of the march, close to Place de la
Nation, I was passed by 60–70 motorbikes, each carrying two cops, many not in
uniform – not the kind you’d stop to ask for directions.
There was a huge police presence at Nation and I was redirected
by cops at one of the blocked off entrances to the square.
A comrade from the Pole de Renaissance Communiste
explained that these motorbike police were from a new crack unit.
He said the Envoye Special current affairs
broadcast the evening before the protest on the France 2 channel revealed that
in recent weeks a task force of motorcycle policemen had been created.
"There are two policemen on each bike: a driver and a
cop with weapons, telescopic truncheon and stun grenades.
"They usually get to a manif (protest) with 20
bikes and 40 cops, and then seriously injure as many people as they can. Then
they quickly escape to do the same dirty job somewhere else.
"They are called the BRAVE M (Brigade de Répression
a la Violence – Motocycliste).
"In France, cops must wear a number, so one is
supposed to be able to complain if necessary. But the ones from ‘BRAVE M’ have
no numbers and wear masks to cover their faces. Slowly and slowly, fascism is
growing in France…"
The media on both sides of the English Channel are vying
with each other to declare the unions are about to give up the fight, with
photos in Friday's Paris newspapers showing low-level shots of handfuls of
protesters.
But the infectious energy and enthusiasm of the Paris
march – just one of many across France – suggests the battle is far from over
and that the unions enjoy the support of a sizeable majority of French people
in the fight to protect pension rights.
Workers from local councils, health, refuse, transport and
others were joined by large numbers of enthusiastic students and young people,
whilst dozens of union banners joined home-made ones and, of course, red flags.
The previous week saw doctors and lawyers joining the
strike, and a pitched battle between firefighters, wearing their uniforms and
helmets, and the police close to Place de la République.
Since the start of the Gilet Jaunes protests in December
2018, according to the Ministry of the Interior some 3,100 people have been
injured – 1,900 civilians and 1,200 police.
An internet search suggests that 82 people have been
seriously injured – 17 have lost an eye, and four a hand or finger. Amnesty
International has condemned “the massive use of tear gas, the use of trap
techniques, and the use of GLI-F4 explosive grenades, de-encirclement grenades
and LBD40 rubber bullet launchers”.
The LBD40 ‘flash balls’ weighing 95 grams are believed to
have caused many serious injuries. Last month a volunteer firefighter in Bordeaux
was hit on the temple at a Yellow Vest protest and is still in a coma, and the
rubber bullets caused two deaths before 2019.
Not only peaceful protestors but also innocent bystanders,
journalists and human rights observers have been victims of the extremely
dangerous police tactics.
The protests are supported by four of the France’s largest
unions – the CGT, Force Ouvrière, FSU and Solidaires – but two more moderate
unions, the CFDT and Unsa, dropped out last month after Macron made miniscule
changes to the so-called ‘pivot age’ the proposed reforms would take effect.
Self-employed private sector workers including lawyers,
airline pilots, doctors and other health professionals have also backed the
pension protests with mass protests since September 2019. Many lawyers have
been on strike for three weeks, forcing courts and tribunals to postpone
hearings.
The involvement of self-employed workers means the
government is facing a two-pronged assault against the pension reforms.
Lawyer Jean-Philippe Labes said: “This is a profession
that is getting poorer,” and another lawyer from Paris, François Suberbere,
said: “Our pensions are threatened. We are being told we have to pay more
charges for fewer pension rights. This means many smaller firms that are vital
to the legal system will not survive.”
Last Tuesday more than 300 senior hospital doctors
partially ‘resigned’ from their jobs across France to denounce the state of the
hospital sector and put pressure on the government to respond.
Whilst unions have taken industrial action and protested
against the pension changes because they will lose existing rights and
privileges, independent workers object to their autonomous pension schemes,
which are in credit, being merged with other schemes that are in debt and a
rise in their pension contributions.
Meanwhile, strikes at incineration centres are causing
rubbish to pile up in the streets of Paris.
The Louvre, the Paris Opera and even ballet dancers have
previously joined the strike, and the Paris Opera orchestra has given free
performances to protestors.
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