N° 32 février 2023 Elisabeth Borne defends her reform at all costs. On January 23, she presented her wishes to the press, straight in her boots, she assumes everything she has done since settling in Matignon.
She “does not ignore the social movement” . Yes, she knows that “working longer doesn't make many people happy” … “You can't say that no one will have to work longer. The principle of our pension reform is to work gradually longer . Its objective: to have its reform adopted as quickly as possible with article 47-1 of the Constitution, which plans to shorten the debates to only 50 days.
More than 2 million demonstrators against the pension reform!
93% of working people reject Macron's reform aimed at raising the retirement age. This rejection was illustrated during the massive demonstration of January 19th. This first water hammer has repercussions. Several deputies from Macron's coalition have declared in the media that they will not vote for the pension reform. They say: "turn to abstention and even the vote against". At Les Républicains, who support the pension reform, according to the JDD, deputies would not vote for the reform, nearly 40 deputies say they plan to oppose or abstain on the law, threatening the executive not to find majority on its pension reform. Within the macronist camp and the right, the fear of a social explosion in the face of a very unpopular reform is expressed. According to Ifop, the French are increasingly opposed to the reform (72% on 17-18 January against 68% on January 11-12). Above all, 54% of Republican voters now declare themselves hostile to it and 31% of Macronists, both on the rise! Social protest is massive against the government.
Let's fight to roll it back
We must impose a huge balance of power, based on calls for a renewable strike by refiners or electricians and gas producers, and by preparing a massive mobilization on January 31. While bakers are strongly affected by the rise in energy prices, the electricians and gas workers of the CGT energy of Marseille have launched a solidarity operation by offering them reduced prices.
Faced with the broad rejection of the pension reform that was expressed in the street, the government is getting entangled in the deception of the after-sales service of its reform. While the ministers continue to praise the reform, Frank Riester bluntly assumed: "We never said that everyone was a winner" and added cynically "We absolutely do not disagree". On Public Sénat, he detailed: “Women, to reach their contribution period, use in particular quarters validated by child […]. Obviously, if you postpone the legal age, they are penalized a little . He cannot hide the fact that women are among the big losers of this reform, women will have to work 8 months longer.
Once again, the government is asking the most precarious, those who suffer from low wages, who cannot make ends meet, who are forced to work part-time, to "do efforts” …
Let's amplify and continue the fight: reform is NO!
Raising wages and indexing them to inflation, putting an end to part-time jobs, mostly by women, retirement at age 60 with 37.5 annual contributions, it's possible! Money there is. Big companies make billions on the backs of employees, they are exempt from contributions up to 70 billion, they only pay 28 billion in taxes… And for the war, no problem. Macron announced on January 20 that an envelope of 413 billion euros will be allocated to Defense for 2024-2030, a 30% increase in the army budget, compared to the last law. For health, however, nothing! In the new plan. One more, and the “refoundation pacts” (in 2019) the “Ségur de la santé”(in 2020) follow one another. However, since the mobilization of emergency physicians in 2019, the situation has only worsened: 6 million French people are without a doctor. At the public hospital, nearly 20% of the beds are closed on the pretext of the lack of staff for which they are responsible. The budgetary rigor is continuing and worsening, the last budget is decreasing since the increase of 3.5% which is planned does not even cover inflation. The estimated needs are 35,000 nurses.
The capitalist with the measures imposed by the Macron government reveals all his violence, the suffering, the injustices, the exploitation and the intolerable oppressions that they inflict on the people. The race for capitalist profits leads to a serious deterioration in the living conditions of all workers. To strengthen capitalism, multinationals and their profits, the government sacrifices those who produce wealth
Only struggles, demonstrations, strikes will allow Macron to impose a substantial balance of power so that he withdraws his reform.
The turn in the processions of January 19 shows that the demonstrators have understood very well what awaits them! There is only the struggle and the union of the workers and the people to stop it. This is the path that employees have taken for months to demand salaries, pensions, jobs, education, retirement… development of public services, health, national education, research, transport, industries, local authorities.
January 31: a scathing response until withdrawal!
To make them go back, let's develop the struggle stronger and stronger, strikes everywhere, all together,
The capitalist multinationals have put Macron in place to maintain their power, their profits, capitalism is constantly on the attack to take back what it had to concede and go as far as possible in exploitation and social regression, c It is capitalism that must be fought. Economic, financial and political power is in his hands. The political struggle against capitalism is unavoidable.