French Strikers Have Reason To Fight For Their Plum Retirements.

French strikers are not showing any glimpses of backing down.  So far, the strike has been extended to Wednesday and I won’t be surprised if it continues even longer.

I would venture to say that if you had their plum retirement age and pensions promised to you when you were hired, you would be out on the street with them!

Meanwhile, it is a real mess at rail stations, metros, buses, airports and autoroutes!

There are just a few TGV, Intercity, Commuter and TER trains leaving stations.

Only a few subway lines are running, 7 out of 16,  and only between certain short periods of time!  It is a strange view to see the gates closed to a Line 4 entrance at midday!

Today I saw people even stationing themselves on the metro entrance steps waiting for the grilled gate to open.

Many lines are not stopping at all of their usual stops either.   They are only open between 6:30 to 9:30 Am and 4:30 to  7:30 pm.

Crowds of commuters are pushing and shoving to get on the few subways, trains or buses that are operating.

Now at all times, there is a huge mass of people waiting to board buses as seen here.

In the 20 years of living here, I have never seen it as bad as it is now!  In 1995 there was a massive strike that lasted several weeks forcing the government to give up plans of reform.

Today there is another huge march in progress.  So far  Macron seems to be in hiding as he was at the beginning of the Yellow Vest movement.

Traffic jams galore on the highways leading into Paris are the norm now.  Some truckers are even doing the “escargot” routine of blocking huge stretches with their long haul trucks.

Traffic outside my window on a major thoroughfare of Paris has been clogged more than usual with incoming traffic along with seemingly incessant honking and sirens of ambulances and police cars trying to get through.

Merchants, especially small businesses are beginning to suffer the effects of customers not being able to get to their stores.

With the usual Christmas buying frenzy approaching, there is a real reason for concern as stocks are being depleted and having difficulty in receiving replacements.

Plus, many customers are having trouble getting to large department stores such as Galeries Lafayette and Printemps since metro lines going there or stops are closed.

Tourism is suffering as well, with increasing hotel cancellations.  Tourists won’t be able to use public transports with ease and will have to rely on expensive taxis and Uber-type cars to get around.

All of this is in protest to reforms of French retirement rules that reportedly is a drain on French financial budgets.  I have no intention of presenting an opinionated analysis of the proposed reform, but just my own personal observations of the French mindset regarding the strike.

Macron wants to change 42 different retirement schemes to one.  It would be based on a point system where workers would accumulate points all along their working years and that retirement age would be equalised.

He wants the retirement age to be the same for all workers.  Currently, it is not.

There are in place several different special systems.   Workers for the SNCF, (French rail company) for example can retire as early as 52 years.

Parisian subway and bus drivers working for the RAPT can retire at 55.  Frankly, anybody who can survive driving a bus in the aggressivity of Parisian traffic all their working life deserves an early retirement!

For the majority of workers, it is now 62 years, whereas it was 60 several years ago.

Macron also wants worker’s pensions to be based 50 % on a career average and not on the last 6 months of their paychecks, which it is now and of course is more lucrative.

Having not grown up French, I can only give my own observations as a therapist and long term resident; therefore I have no pretensions of my assessment reflecting that of someone raised in French culture.

From a sociological and psychological perspective, I see the French mentality as more resistant to change than my own American acculturation.

Tradition here is very valued over reinventing the wheel, which is rather indigenous in an American mindset that encourages ingenuity.

I think that is why French gastronomy, French cheeses and wines are globally acclaimed because they remain less contaminated to modern ways that often sacrifice quality.

France is a very old society and with set in the wool ways of doing things that can still be seen in conducting business and in administrative affairs where old-time rules and pomp and circumstance remain evident even with small merchants to large corporations.

Coming from a culture where speed and ease of accomplishing things is valued, the French hang on to complicated methods of going from point A to B.  Tradition and rules are preserved over gaining efficiency.

Whereas an American businessman expects instant cooperation and decision making made by presenting facts, the French prefer time, reflection and developing a trusting relationship before any agreement can be made.

The French are much less politically naive than Americans with a tremendous ingrained distrust of politicians, their power or any who attempt to “govern” with forced change.

Don’t forget they killed off their royalty in a very bloody revolution!  This need to take to the streets and protest loudly is in their blood.

Not only that it is their given right!  Since 1864, the French government guaranteed the right to strike and public workers have some paid strike days!

It is how they grew up and preservations of workers rights are not to be messed with.  Workers struggled to obtain the rights they have and are very protective of them.

Macron is seen as having a Jupiter or “god” complex who is completely out of touch with the French pulse.

Perhaps because of his youth and intent to prove his inflated sense of self, he has set himself up as the agent of change, as being capable of pulling off reform that his predecessors weren’t able to do.

He certainly miscalculated the strength and longevity of the Yellow Vest movement and I  feel he has also misjudged the readiness of the French to accept his proposed retirement changes.

Human beings regardless of nationality are resistant to change out of fear. As a therapist, dealing with fears of change or getting others to even let go of unproductive ways of behaviour can’t be accomplished overnight.

Developing new ways of thinking that could pave way to changes require much time and can’t be forced.

Macron is trying to ramrod his changes down the throats of a populace hell-bent on fighting to the bloody end to preserve what workers fought so hard to gain and want to pass down to their children.

The French have grown up with a superb social safety net infrastructure that I wished I had when I was raising my children.  It would have been so much less stressful!

As I write, there is a small band of marchers singing La Marseillaise outside my balcony, and traffic has been stopped to let them pass in support.

More cheers and chants can be heard as other groups are marching peacefully towards Denfert Rochereau where larger groups are amassing for today’s march.

The majority of French are currently in support of the protestors and time will tell if support will be maintained.  I feel for those who have to commute in and out of the city for work and for the affected merchants.

If it continues I feel that Macron will be the one blamed as being inflexible and haughty rather than French strikers in the streets.

Marchons, marchons enfants de la Patrie!

P.S.  For my French readers, please feel free to present your very valuable and most welcome views in French!