The numbers from the 6th day of national mobilization against the pension reform—Thursday before last—show that the trend is clear. It feels like the end.
In the provinces, AFP counts 42,000 protesters across 20 cities, the lowest numbers since the start of the mobilization… and the unions confirm this. In Paris, even the CGT does not hide the decline and announces 250,000 protesters, which is…
When people start manipulating the numbers, it’s not a good sign. In any case, it would be—a manipulation included—a third less than Thursday of the previous week.
In Nice, the voice of the “angry people” was expressed by a few hundred protesters in the late afternoon, outside of working hours!
Even the call to revolt from the pseudo-revolutionary leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon no longer takes hold.
The new method of protesting—the torch-lit descent—gave a theatrical character to the demonstrations but— for those who know history—could have—certainly unintentionally—evoked a parallel with memories of similar marches in the 1930s.
Fortunately, passing through Place Masséna during Thursday evening’s gathering, the atmosphere was more festive than confrontational.
And yes, there are many people who, if they do not protest, seemingly do not know what to do.
