Small French towns send out big message in rejecting pension reforms

The recent protests and strikes making the headlines are in Paris and other big cities, but people in more than 200 towns in France took to the streets on Tuesday to oppose President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform. In Compiègne – an imperial town some 90kms north of the capital, a tenth of the population came out to say "no".

01:40

Compiegne is a wealthy city with an imperial past, but a strong industrial one too. Blue collar workers from the local Colgate Palmolive and Saint Gobain plants were out protesting. © Hird/RFI

Around 4,000 people turned out in the freezing cold on Tuesday for the third day of protests and strike action against Macron’s proposed pension reform, which is currently being debated in parliament.

“We will not give up, Mr Macron,” a female CGT trade union rep shouts into the loudspeaker as a long line of people amble through the picturesque, cobbled streets of Compiègne.

• French unions defiant in face of proposed pension reform despite dip in protester numbers

They march past the imposing 16th century town hall and then the castle which served as a centre for court life and power during the reign of Napoleon I and III.

A man in black carries a placard that reads: “Retirement in a camping car, not in a hearse.”

Demonstrators march in front of Compiègne's majestic town hall. © Hird/RFI

Teachers, students, nurses, factory workers, shopkeepers, retirees – the march has drawn people from different walks of life and social classes. But they're united in their opposition to raising the legal age of retirement by two years, to 64.

Three young female careworkers from the local hospital are leading the procession.

• Controversial pension reform plan faces first parliamentary showdown

“Our working conditions are miserable and our pensions will be the same if we continue in this direction," says 30-year-old Jessica Collard.

"We sometimes have to lift patients weighing 130kgs," says her colleague Béatrice. "We can't take care of patients if we're not in good shape ourselves."

Careworkers Jessica Collard (centre) and Beatrice (right) opened the march. © Hird/RFI

Isabelle, 54, works 40 kilometres away at Charles de Gaulle airport and has taken the day off to march alongside her daughter.

“I want to be able to enjoy my retirement and take care of my two grandchildren,” she says. "But that won't be possible under the reform. MPs, Macron, the government, they're all on a cloud, they're cut off."

Make the most of life

Teachers from Pierre d’Ailly high school are also demonstrating.

Their work may be less physical than the nurses but Luc, a 44-year-old history and geography teacher, is struggling to imagine doing his job at 67 when, under the reform, he would qualify for a full pension.

“I think there are other ways of financing pensions,” he says, adding that they are not against change per se.

"We're not necessarily here to support a kind of vision of the past. We are supporting a model of society in which we are not necessarily working for ages and ages."

"A good retirement - this is what we are striking for, protesting, demonstrating for!"

Luc (second left) with colleagues from Pierre d'Ailly high school. "As a teacher I will probably have to work til 67 and I’m not sure I could still do that at that age." © Hird/RFI

The demonstrators include people from the private sector too.

Marc Foucault, a white collar worker at the local Palmolive-Colgate plant carries a placard showing President Macron with a very long nose.

“In one of his speeches, in 2019, Macron said he wouldn’t touch the pension system, considered 62 was a good age to retire and lots of jobs were physically difficult.

"Now he's saying the opposite."

Marc Foucault holds a placard denouncing "Macron's lies". © Hird/RFI

Striking is a legal right in France but it can be awkward for people to do so if their bosses are opposed.

Foucault said he “could afford” to lose a day’s pay and wanted to show solidarity with those who had physically more demanding jobs than him.

Wider than pensions

The protests have focused on pension reform, but they reflect wider concerns such as the cost of living as both households and businesses find themselves paying more for energy, petrol and food.

Jean-Louis Lambert, 70, retired eight years ago after running a taxi firm. Before that he worked for 26 years at the Continental tyre factory.

He admits to being "lucky" to have a monthly pension of €1,700, but wants the same for young people when they're his age. 

Retiree Jean-Louis (left) on the Solferino bridge in Compiègne. He describes himself as "a warrior". © Hird/RFI

"I'm here for the youngsters, so they can get what I got. With inflation, our pensions are being eaten into. Mine hasn’t gone up for those eight years,” he says

Losing pay

Given the economic context, it’s not easy for people to lose a day’s wages says Olivier Vaïty, a white collar worker at Decathlon sports chain and a union rep with the reformist CFDT union.

“I’m striking today for the third time. Many of my colleagues say they agree with us about the protests but can’t strike because it impacts their salaries too much," Vaïty says.

High school teacher Valerie Grillon has lost three days’ pay and it's beginning to weigh on the family budget.

• France struggles to defuse claims that pension reform will penalise women

“I lose 1/30^th of my monthly salary, bonuses and overtime for each strike day,” she says. “It’s starting to weigh me down, but it’s necessary."

She says the reform "is not fair", citing how it will penalise women who have had breaks in their careers to raise children.

“The government says the reform will introduce a minimum pension of €1,200 a month, but most people, especially women, won't benefit," she argues, since  it applies only to people who have had full careers.

Lower turnout

The turnout in Compiègne on Tuesday was lower than on the 31 January when more than 7,000 pepole took to the streets.

Protestors chat to a police officer at the end of the march. "The demos in Compiègne are calm, we’re not looking for conflict, just to show discontent over pension reform and the situation in general, with high inflation," says Stephane Lemaire (right), a forklift truck operator and CGT rep at Saint Gobin Group. He said turnout was "exceptional". © Hird/RFI

George du Rouchet, head of the local branch of the CGT, said they "expected the numbers would be down a bit, employees can't afford to lose a week of revenue in a month".

The fact school holidays are looming also contributed to lower numbers, the CGT said.

Nonetheless the last two demos marked a "huge" turnout for Compiègne.

The 31 January protest was "the biggest since 2009 when 17,000 took to the streets to oppose the closure of Continental tyre plant".

The unions are banking on bigger numbers on Saturday when the majority of people will not have to strike in order to protest.

The "royal stables" bear witness to the Compiègne's imperial history. Napoleon I rode regularly in the nearby forest. © Hird/RFI