Demonstrations of Wednesday March 8: pension reform joins forces with the defense of women’s rights

This Wednesday, March 8, the social movement against pension reform joins the defense of women’s rights.

Second consecutive day of demonstrations everywhere in France, this Wednesday, March 8, 2023. If some extend the protest movement against the pension reform, many aim to denounce the inequalities between women and men.

A fight that resonates with the international day of women’s rights celebrated each year on March 8. On the occasion of the double mobilization, feminist associations and other more salaried movements converge the struggles, the workers being again exposed to injustices with the bill currently being debated in the Senate.

This year’s event is therefore also a way to challenge the pension reform considered by this collective as « violent and unfair » for women. « Let’s make March 8, 2023 that of the withdrawal of this new reform of major social regression », moreover justified the collective « Grève féministe », which wants this day to be the opportunity to demonstrate against wage inequalities, domestic violence but also for the freedom to dispose of one’s body.

Several unions, including Solidaires, have called for « participating in feminist unitary initiatives and demonstrations, as well as inter-union actions that may be added, to highlight the injustice and specific inequalities that women suffer with this pension reform project » .

The Parisian demonstration to celebrate Women’s Rights Day, against a background of protest against the pension reform, is currently taking place in Paris, in the rain. It started from Place de la République to join Place de la Nation.

For International Women’s Rights Day, deputies from Nupes presented a bill to revalue « feminized professions » such as cashiers or nursing assistants and better take into account their arduousness. The insoumise Sarah Legrain considered that the « feminized professions » remain a « blind spot of the legislation » and that their « salaries, qualification and arduousness are systematically undervalued ».

The student union L’Alternative counted them at midday in around thirty establishments including the universities of Grenoble, La Rochelle, Lille 2, Lyon 2 and 3, Rennes 2 and Nanterre.
At Sciences Po Paris, around thirty students gathered in front of the rue Saint-Guillaume establishment and blocked this entrance to the site with garbage cans, « in continuity with the renewable strike voted yesterday and the feminist strike today ». today,” a student told AFP.
Sciences Po Lille was also blocked on Wednesday morning, and “all lessons” went remotely “until Saturday inclusive”.

Borne sends the inter-union back to Dussopt

While they demanded a meeting with the President of the Republic, Elisabeth Borne invited the unions to consult… Olivier Dussopt, the Minister of Labour. “If the trade union organizations wish to raise certain specific points, the door of the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt always remains open”, affirmed the Prime Minister before the Senate, during the session of the questions to the government.

« We don’t want a reform that penalizes workers » says Aurélien Pradié

« No one here is opposed to pension reform, we are in favor of a reform but not just any: we do not want a reform that penalizes workers », said Aurélien Pradié, deputy LR, at the result of a meeting with the leader of the CFDT, Laurent Berger.

TGV and TER traffic disrupted this Thursday

Train traffic will remain affected Thursday by the mobilization against the pension reform. This should still be the case this Friday.

It will be necessary to count on 1 train out of 3 on average on the TVG Inoui network, with 2 trains out of 5 on the North axis and 1 train out of 3 on the Atlantic axis.

Count 2 out of 5 trains on average on the TER network. Finally, for the Intercités, the SNCF plans 1 train out of 4 on average.

The French have declared war on the government and the law on pensions, the unions are preparing a dark week starting on March 7 and ending on Saturday March 11, accompanied by a strike and the paralysis of the country, accompanied by students who have blocked universities in France from today, March 8.

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Gabriel MIHAI

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