The French Tradition of Protesting Pension Reforms

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Anger in the National Assembly, violence in the streets and the Bordeaux town hall on fire. Macron’s pension reform may have passed in the National Assembly following the Borne government’s use of Article 49-3 of the constitution, but a large part of the population remains in disagreement with the planned changes, particularly the increase in the legal retirement age. While the latest union-organized demonstrations on Thursday were generally peaceful, violent clashes have also taken place, with police using tear gas and 80 arrests made across the country. Government figures suggest 1.09 million people took part in the nationwide protests. The CGT union however says this figure is actually far higher, at 3.5 million.

This infographic, based on data from the French Ministry of the Interior (via France Info), compares the official size of protests against the various pension reforms in France between 1995 and 2023. There have been several cycles of demonstrations against pension reforms in recent decades: in 1995, in 2003, in 2010, in 2019-2020 and in 2023. 2010 had the largest number of days on which protests were organized, with 12 called by the unions. In 2023, the number is currently at 9. Unions are calling for more nationwide action on Mar. 28.

This chart shows government figures for protesters at demonstrations against pension reforms in France from 1995 to 2023.