By Reda Benchouchane, a PCF militant in Paris
The feverish crisis of the Macron-Philippe government was clear from the events in the last week. France has experienced a start of an historic mobilization. Even according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, the streets were filled last Thursday with 800,000 protesters, but 1.5 million, according to the CGT, the historic left union confederation. As it was in the the mobilizations in all the regions of France, the mobilization in Paris saw an impressive numbers of protesters.
The parting rally took place at Gare de l’Est, and the number of protesters was already very significant, since the distance between Gare de l’Est and Place de la République (750 metres long on a width of 8 metres of roadway) was filled by the processions and the sound of the trucks that accompanied them.
The protesters remained stuck between 2pm, departure time of the event, and 4pm, because a fire caused by clashes between autonomous protesters (aka the black bloc) and riot police forces had the effect of temporarily holding up the event. But given the pressing number of people who wanted to continue to march, the riot police ended up leaving the procession to head to the Place de la Nation.
Firefighers setting off fire-crackers
Among the processions that were present, firefighters made a strong impression by detonating firecrackers. They were demonstrating for their pensions and also against mismanagement of their service by their management who often give them tasks that should normally fall to public health services.
Teachers were also gathered in numbers to take part in the marches. Like the firefighters, their slogans concerned both the deterioration of the future conditions – ie their retirement pensions – and more generally about such issues as the implementation of a two-speed education system and the decline of the finance for education institutions. The situation in educational funding has became so bad that it led to the suicide of a school director in one of the poorer suburbs of Paris in September.
Police unions also were also in the march alongside firefighters, worried about their pensions and angry at harassing human management in the police forces. A number of police stations were actually closed as a token measure, although the police as a whole are not permitted to strike.
While the ministers responsible for education and the interior tried to reassure their respective employees, it seems that their arguments had no effect at all, only renewing the determination of teachers unions to march.
The parade ended at Place de la Nation, with a DJ set prepared by the “Justice and Truth for Adama” collective, named for a young black man who was murdered some years ago by police in another poor suburb, as they were arresting him for no reason and as he offered no resistance.
Strike to continue this week
The riot police tried at one point to disperse the demonstration with violence, but the protesters did not give in to the provocation, and joined the many buses chartered by the unions and waiting for them nearby. The CGT has called for continuing the strike from Monday December 9th, and the government is currently in a delicate position as it is itself split on the issue of pension reform. Pension reform is one of many accumulating crises facing the government. The working class is in a strong position to win a victory here, but only if their leaders remain strong and resilient and continue to mobilize the strikers.
December 9, 2019
