One could headline: the primacy of the State versus more or less categorical interests.
Today the Prime Minister detailed the axes of the reform. “There will be no magical announcements,” Edouard Philippe had announced. In fact, there haven’t been any.
The national debate organized by public authorities reveals that among the measures to be taken, the themes considered as priorities to date are the establishment of a universal retirement system, the elimination of regimes concerning parliamentarians, and those of special schemes specific to public enterprises.
These themes present a challenge for political power. Far from the logic of compromise, we find ourselves facing a context of power struggles with consequences that are uncertain today.
Picked up by militant speeches, “general strike, unlimited strike, coalition of struggles, blockades throughout the territory,” “return of 1995.”
Once again, a scent of social war pervades the country. Yet, a question arises: what if the upcoming conflict is not only a challenge for the government but also a crucial challenge for the unions?
In fact, by referencing 2019 too much to December 1995, we lose sight of the significant developments that have marked the social, political, and union contexts over the past twenty-five years.
Today, is a reversal of trends possible, which would lead the unions – at least the protesters’ unions – to reconnect with success?
As a major social conflict looms, union combativeness quickly limits itself to a few areas of the public sector, especially transportation, with sometimes the feeling of witnessing a sort of “last stand,” like at the SNCF, which opens to competition in January 2020 and where the failure of the 2018 conflict still leaves traces.
Among the unions that consider themselves “maximalist” and advocate for an unlimited and renewable strike, the conflict can bog down and give rise to phenomena of radicalization or the overtaking of union leadership by the grassroots.
Thus, the situation appears very critical and all conditions are set for a major confrontation between the government and the unions.
by Garibaldino
