鈥楾he world is watching鈥�: French protests show enduring collective will
Most people cherish stability. Many are willing to put up with some repeated disruption to affect social change. Our Paris-based writer takes the measure of current French protests and puts this robust season of clashes in context.聽
You could argue that nobody does protests like the French.聽
They are practiced. The right to rebel has been codified in the nation鈥檚 constitution since shortly after the French Revolution.
Recent waves of protests in Paris and in other French cities have splashed across TV screens, showing crowds that are huge even by French standards. Some have turned violent. Reform of the retirement system ignited this round.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not the only reason,鈥� Paris-based writer Colette Davidson says on the Monitor鈥檚 鈥淲hy We Wrote This鈥� podcast. 鈥淧eople are angry that they feel that [President] Macron has, little by little, chipped away at public services ... and that they don鈥檛 have the sense that they can have much faith in their future.鈥�
To the government, the need for reform 鈥� for people to work two years longer 鈥� is an issue of simple math. (A Constitutional Council ruling on the legality of the bill is expected April 14.) Protesters question the urgency and say it takes into account too few future variables. Their perseverance is rooted in a collective feeling of being ignored, Colette says. Their pushback is rooted in unity and a perception of fairness.
鈥淭he French have this tradition of protesting,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really ingrained in their culture. ... And it really brings French people together. There is this feeling that it can still do something, and that鈥檚 why so many people are joining the movement.鈥�
Show notes
Here are two recent stories by Colette on the protests:聽
Read more about her, and find more of her stories, at Colette鈥檚 staff bio page.
Episode transcript
Clay Collins: In any number of countries in the world, street demonstrations can bring severe consequences and crackdowns. In France, protest is practically a way of life, and that has long been the case. The 鈥渞ight to rebellion鈥� was enshrined in the French Constitution not long after the French Revolution.聽
The Monitor鈥檚 Colette Davidson is based in Paris. She鈥檚 been reporting on the current protests there and elsewhere in France. They are large, and growing. As Colette reports, using government data, few issues over the past three decades have brought more than a million protestors out onto the streets at once. This year鈥檚 protests have already done so at least four times.
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Collins: This is 鈥淲hy We Wrote This.鈥� I鈥檓 Clay Collins. Colette joins us today.聽
Welcome, Colette.
Colette Davidson: Hi. Thanks for having me.
Collins: So, we worked around some disrupted home life on your end, just to get this interview scheduled. Can you tell us what it鈥檚 been like day to day in Paris lately?
Davidson: Sure. So what you鈥檙e referring to is all the teachers going on strike. [This interview dates back a couple of weeks.] I have two kids, and it seems like we haven鈥檛 had just a full week of school in months. I mean, that鈥檚 not exactly the case, but there have been a lot of strikes and there have been a lot of teachers joining that strike. You also have metros, full lines or just single stops that are closed down during protest movements. And even there was a period of time recently where there was quite a bit of violence in the evening. I went to a movie one night. And when I came out, there were sirens everywhere, the metros were blocked, the garbage collectors had been on strike. So there was garbage on fire in almost every street that we went to. You didn鈥檛 know how to get home. So these [are] things that, um, you don鈥檛 think are going to happen in your daily life. There are some people who have been impacted by having their trains or their planes canceled. And it鈥檚 just this kind of sense of instability. You can feel it in the air that, you know, 鈥淲hat is going to happen next?鈥�
Collins: Hmm. Lots of things bring people out into the streets. And a sense that one鈥檚 economic future is at risk is one of those things. In 2018, there were issues of taxation and fairness that partly led to the so-called Yellow Vest movement. This one, largely rooted in retirement reform, seems a lot bigger. Why is that?
Davidson: Well, I mean it鈥檚 not just about this current reform. Many, many presidents have tried to reform the retirement system,聽 without much success. And it seems that whenever anyone tries to touch the legal age of retirement, that鈥檚 what really ignites the French. So that鈥檚 kind of what happened this time around. President Macron wants to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, and that was what initially brought people out on the streets. But it鈥檚 not the only reason. People are angry that they feel that Macron has, little by little, chipped away at public services, like schools or hospitals, and that they don鈥檛 have the sense that they can have much faith in their future. And that鈥檚 kind of why people, especially young people, are joining. You can see images of high schoolers joining the protest movement about pension. And you think, 鈥渨hy is that?鈥� It鈥檚 growing discontent, I would say, about many issues.
Collins: Hmm. And Emmanuel Macron鈥檚 style, as you mentioned, has been questioned by some people. But can you articulate the government鈥檚 case here, how generational demographics and all of the attending numbers maybe call for some adjustments and some reform. And also how did you hold that perspective and balance in your reporting?
Davidson: Sure. So the government鈥檚 standpoint is that this is really just basic math. If you take what we have in the budget now and you put that toward, you know, what is the pension system going to look like in 2030 or 2050? The numbers don鈥檛 add up. There鈥檚 just not enough money. So that鈥檚 where the government is coming from. And as I said, so many governments have tried different things: a point system, um, changing the age, changing, like, statuses of certain types of jobs.聽
So you have this government point of view. But then you also have people and quite reputable consulting groups saying: 鈥淗ang on. We shouldn鈥檛 be looking at just budget. Let鈥檚 look at all the different factors at play. Like, we should be looking at overall GDP. We should be looking at birth rate, life expectancy, the way that salaries might go up as the years go by. And these could all change the numbers.鈥� That鈥檚 why these groups are saying: 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 so urgent. Why is Macron making it so urgent?鈥� So you see the two sides. Another big factor is the trade unions. They don鈥檛 feel that Macron has really interacted with them in the way that they want. So there鈥檚 some real discontent between the authorities and the unions.
Collins: You explore in your story the idea of whether protests can remain effective if it鈥檚 basically the rule and not the exception. And people may think about 1968 in France and things coming to a standstill. There were protests, as you write, in the mid-90s and again in the mid-2000. So what does it take for a people to sustain protests that feel effective and not just performative?
Davidson: So the Monitor鈥檚 Europe editor, Arthur Bright, my editor, he initially asked this question: If the French are always protesting, how effective can protests really be? And as I started looking into this, I started to be really curious myself, especially as things moved on and the bill was adopted, and you still saw the protests continuing, and not just continuing but growing. It really did make me think: 鈥淗ow can protests do anything at this point?鈥� And the fact is they can, because history shows us that they can. The French have this tradition of protesting. It鈥檚 really ingrained in their culture. They take pleasure in it, you know. It can be quite festive, people playing drums and singing. And it really brings French people together. There is this feeling that it can still do something, and that鈥檚 why so many people are joining the movement, even youth. I was at a protest recently and there were two young girls. They were university students. They said it was their first time protesting ever. They felt called to be there and let their voices be heard.
Collins: Hmm. you also describe a kind of broadening range of grievances. Um, some people major upheaval and not just the withdrawal of a pension policy. It鈥檚 so fundamental. Almost in the way that some of the current Israeli protests are, where I saw that [unrest] described as 鈥渁 high stakes game of chicken.鈥� How do you see this playing out from here in France? Is there also a desire for stability that will maybe bring some political compromise?
Davidson: Well, it鈥檚 a good question. I think this desire for stability, sure, this is what people ultimately want. But I think the government might be moved towards stability more than the people. Because uh, when you talk to people who are against the reform, they don鈥檛 necessarily feel bothered by all of these blockades and strikes. There are, you know, all these media reports of people sitting in their cars in the south of France, waiting for gas for two hours. But then when you asked: 鈥淎re you in support of the protest?鈥� They say: 鈥淵es, you know, this is annoying. But they鈥檙e doing the right thing.鈥� So, um, stability is relative, I would say. The government could be swayed based on their image abroad. The summer Olympics are next year to be held in Paris. So the world is really watching what the government will do, if France is a safe place to be. And already Britain鈥檚 King Charles III, he had to postpone his visit recently because of security concerns. So there are things that could ultimately push the government to drop this reform, but it鈥檚 very unclear which way this is going to go.
Collins: Well, thank you, Colette, for the story. And I hope the daily disruptions in your personal life are not, are not too hard over the next couple of weeks.聽
Davidson: Thanks very much.
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Collins: Thanks for listening. You can find more, including our show notes with links to Collette鈥檚 work, at csmonitor.com/WhyWeWroteThis, or wherever you listen to podcasts. This episode was hosted by me, Clay Collins, and produced by Jingnan Peng. Tim Malone and Alyssa Britton were our engineers, with original music by Noel Flatt. Produced by the 海角大神 Science Monitor. Copyright 2023.
