On January 10, 2023, the Prime Minister Elisabeth BORNE announced in the JDD her project of pension reform aiming at lengthening the duration of contribution for retirement to 43 years, thus a legal retirement at 64 years.
However, the Prime Minister shares with us that people who started working at 20-21 years old will be able to retire at 62 years old, people who started working at less than 18 years old will be able to benefit from a retirement at 60 years old.
The reactions
In response to the pension reform project announced by Elisabeth BORNE, the French have launched days of mobilization on January 19 and 30, 2023. Two demonstrations and strikes are planned on February 11 and 16, 2023 in Paris and in the main cities of France participating in these rallies in order to prevent the realization of this project. At the same time, some high school union organizations such as the Mouvement National Lycéen (MNL) are demonstrating today to fight against this reform.
What do young people say?
Also, some youth movements like the MNL are militating by organizing demonstrations, blockades and other actions. We met Yanis, a high school student involved in the MNL in the Drôme Ardèche federation, who gave us his vision of the facts. Young people, like Yanis, are very active and feel very concerned in the struggle against the pension reform. These young people are present in the demonstrations and participate in the blockades organized by them or by other organizations. They distribute lines and flyers in their schools and in their communities to make young people aware of their future and of the challenges facing our societies. They hope to succeed in making the government bend, whether it is before the vote, during, or even after.
For now, they are sure that the NUPES and RN deputies are on their side, which makes about 41% of the deputies while their major opponents (Ensemble and Les Républicains) represent about 54% of the deputies. This leaves little room for doubt about the outcome of the vote... However, the message from these young people is very clear:
High school students, get political, get invested, you have an impact in our society, don't just be spectators of this society because you suffer it. And if you have anti-fascist, anti-racist, feminist or anti-capitalist values, find out more about the National Student Movement, which is the largest French high school union. Get involved and let's create a militant force to make our opinion heard and make things change!
It is with these harsh words to the call of the youth that Yanis concluded his interview with us...
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