France: While Union Hacks Try to Save System 2,000,000 Marchers Hit Pension Cuts

PARIS, July 3 — On June 24, nearly 2,000,000 workers protested the bosses’ government’s pension “reform” which will cut pensions by up to 40% over the next 40 years and raise the minimum age for a partial pension to 62 as well as the minimum age for a full pension to 67. The 1.9 million demonstrated in 201 rallies and marches across France. In Paris, 130,000 marched.

Thousands struck — almost 20% of civil servants, 16% of local government workers, and 12.5% of hospital workers as well as half the Finance Ministry workers. These figures doubled the number striking during the previous May 27 action.

Polls reported two-thirds of the country supported the June 24 actions and 56% oppose the government’s retirement “reform.” Half of those opposing the reform said they would fight it.

Pushing back the legal retirement age will especially penalize the working class, most of whom don’t attend college and consequently begin working earlier.

The CGT union leaders who called the demonstrations were surprised that twice as many turned out as they had forecast. The campaign will continue throughout the summer, including holding protest rallies at stops of the Tour de France bicycle race.

The French cabinet is to approve the retirement “reform” on July 13. Demonstrations and another 24-hour strike are planned for Sept. 7, when the French parliament will debate the issue.

But the trade unions remain firmly attached to capitalism. They denounce the pension cuts as a “brake on consumer consumption” which will stall any recovery from capitalism’s economic crisis. Instead of worrying about saving the profit system which constantly attacks the workers, the working class needs to destroy capitalism and its exploitation with communist revolution.