On Thursday, December 5th, potentially the largest strike since 1995 in France began. The most recent strike resulted in the shutdown of France for 3 weeks. Strikes in France are not a peculiar occurrence, but a strike of this size is affecting the daily lives of many citizens. Beforehand, many trains, as well as 20% of flights in and out of France, have been canceled in anticipation of the strike. The entire transportation system will be affected by the strike due to large scale striking across the French transportation systems. Support is also shown for the strike by postal workers who will participate in the strike. A recent poll showed that 6 out of 10 people support the strike in France, and many in France are willing to deal with the resulting transportation inconveniences. The strike has no planned end and those who are striking have planned to be able to strike for weeks if necessary.
Current President Emmanuel Macron ran on a promise to cut taxes and reform France; however, President Macron’s attempt to reform France is fueling the unrest of workers of the French railway system called “cheminots”. Macron’s plan involves pension reform directly attacking the cheminots; the existing pension plan granted them special privileges, while the new reform plan would reduce or take away those special privileges for future workers. Some of the cheminots’ privileges include a job for life, shorter work weeks, regular salary increases, the ability to retire at 52-57, and a pension based on their last 6 working months instead of the last 25 years. These special privileges cost the government abundant amounts of money, causing higher taxes for the citizens of France. While Macron’s new plan to help to lower those taxes would take away many of these privileges for new workers, it would allow current workers to keep their privileges. Even though current workers wouldn’t be directly affected like future workers, they are striking to protect the future generation of cheminots.
Based on the precedence of the 1995 strike that froze the country for 3 weeks, the current strike will likely gain enough momentum to immobilize France again until the pension reform is repealed. Macron won’t be able to ignore the pension reform unrest in France, and will likely not be able to implement it with success. Due to the commitment of striking cheminots and overall support from the country, it is highly unlikely the strikers will give in to the new reforms. The unrest towards Macron and his new plan will likely hurt his overall approval ratings as well as his chance for reelection in 2022.