PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2022) France will see a wave of mass strikes in early 2023 if the government does not roll back its pension reform, Philippe Martinez, head of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), France's leading trade union, said on Friday.
"If the government does not change its stance toward the pension reform, it will face mass demonstrations at the beginning of 2023," Martinez told French tv channel BFMTV, adding that consultations with trade unions organized by the authorities on this issue were "all pure lies."
On Thursday, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne met with representatives of trade unions to present key points of the government's pension reform, expected to be adopted until summer 2023, and consult with the unions whether such a reform could be implemented without causing mass protests. The measure will be officially announced to the public on December 15.
President Emmanuel Macron unveiled his flagship pension reform during his first term two years ago. The reform provides for a gradual increase of the retirement age from 62 to 65 by 2031.
On Wednesday, the country's major trade unions, including the CGT, FSU and Solidaires, issued a communique opposing any plans to raise the retirement age and announced new protests in early January 2023 if their demands were not met by the government.
In September, over 250,000 people across France participated in demonstrations against the pension reform, while demanding a rise in the minimum wage.
