France: green light for the wise to reform pensions

The French Constitutional Council has given the green light to the essential provisions of the pension reform, in particular the most contested article, the one which increases the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. The French trade union CGT announces 400,000 demonstrators today in the square in Paris, as part of the twelfth day of national strikes and protests against Emmanuel Macron's pension reform. It is exactly the same estimate as the one announced by the union itself in the last demonstration last week.

More generally, on the eve of the crucial pronouncement of the constitutional court on the pension reform, the number of demonstrators in the marches is decreasing everywhere in France. Today there were 10,000 in Nantes according to the police, 25,000 according to the organizers, both the lowest level since March 11. Participation also declined in Rennes, Rouen, Le Havre, Orléans, Clermont-Ferrand, Bayonne, Nice and Montpellier.

A lower estimate than those of previous mobilisations. In Paris, the procession will leave at 2.00 pm from place de l'Opéra in the direction of place de la Bastille. The strikes affect various sectors. In the railway sector, 4 out of 5 high-speed trains are expected, while the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (Dgac) has announced that there will be "cancellations and delays".

The garbage collectors of Paris have started a new strike after the break decided on March 28th. Some protesters deposited rubbish in front of the entrance to the Constitutional Council. President Emmanuel Macron will meet the leaders of the majority and some ministers tomorrow afternoon at the Elysée, while today he will meet the president of the Senate, Gerard Larcher, and that of the National Assembly, Yael Braun Pivet.