Workers shake France to protest Macron's pro-capitalist regulation

Over 400,000 protesters marched, up to 60,000 protesters have taken part in the strike against French government-proposed labour reform
Wednesday, 13 September 2017 00:25

The Macron administration, which brings the new pro-capitalist regulation with the lie that "unemployment will be resolved," has faced to its first major protest on Tuesday.

About 4,000 strikes and 180 protests were called by France's biggest trade union, the CGT, with rail workers, students and civil servants urged to join the demonstrations against changes to the country's labour laws, unveiled last month by Macron's government. "It's a first one, and it looks like it's a success," the head of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, told reporters in Paris.

On August 31, the French government announced a plan to reform labour regulations in an effort to give employers more freedom. The draft provisions of the labour law have been widely criticised by unions and left-wing parties, as they would make it easier for companies to lay off staff and cut overtime payments and bypass unions.

CGT said 400,000 people joined marches nationwide, up to 60,000 protesters have taken part in the strike.Thousands of people rallied against the reform in other French cities including Lyon, Nice, Marseille, Montpellier, Toulouse and Bordeaux.

Tuesday's strike is set to be the first in a series of protests planned in connection with the proposed reform. It is expected that the next rally will take place on September 21. The new regulation is expected that the bill will be submitted to the Council of Ministers of France on September 22.

During a trip to Athens on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron told the local French community: "I am fully determined, and I won't cede any ground, not to slackers, nor cynics, nor hardliners." 

Protesters seised on the remark Tuesday, some daubing the word on banners and placards while others shouted: "Macron you're screwed, the slackers are in the street."

An opinion poll published on Sept. 1 showed nearly six in 10 said they opposed Macron's labour decrees overall.