After weeks of targeted strikes, French President Emmanuel Macron refuses to change course on his plans to reform the country’s beloved pension system. Last week, unions across France upped the ante and launched an indefinite strike to force his hand.
So far, after weeks of targeted strikes by workers opposing President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to raise the national retirement age and reform the country’s beloved pension system, the French government has refused to change course. That is why unions across different industries raised the ante last week, launching an indefinite strike until workers’ demands are met. As Eric Challal of the Solidaires Unitaires Démocratiques (SUD) Railway Union put it, “We have no choice, we must make Macron back down, make the employers back down. There is no lack of money in this society… Wages are too low, prices are exploding, the high cost of living, the threat of war… We have this opportunity to fight, all the workers together.” TRNN contributor and video journalist Brandon Jourdan reports from the streets of Paris on the latest escalation of strike actions in France.
This video is part of a special Workers of the World series on the cost of living crisis in Europe.
Producer, Videographer, Editor: Brandon Jourdan
Associate Producer, Translation: Nicolas Lee, Marianne Maeckelbergh
Additional Footage: Getty Images, Ruptly
This story, with the support of the Bertha Foundation, is part of The Real News Network’s Workers of the World series, telling the stories of workers around the globe building collective power and redefining the future of work on their own terms: https://therealnews.com/workers-of-the-world
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** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) **
