Free to use (CC0) Folded Newspapers | Pixabay
Free to use (CC0) Folded Newspapers | Pixabay
FRENCH WORKERS STRIKE TO DEFEND THEIR PENSION BENEFITS - MASS DEMONSTRATIONS AND CLASHES INTENSIFY THROUGHOUT COUNTRY
Statement of Vermont AFL-CIO President David Van Deusen:As the neo-liberal government of Emmanuel Macron seeks to undemocratically diminish the pension benefits of millions of French citizens (and make people work longer before they can collect their retirement), French workers have justifiably reacted with mass strikes and demonstrations.
Violent confrontations in recent weeks have been reported throughout the country, with fires being evident in sections of the Capital, Paris. Polls show that two-thirds of the population oppose the degradation of the retirement system, and yet still the right leaning government of France continues its attacks on the French people.
The Vermont AFL-CIO stands in solidarity with the French Unions who have engaged in mass strike activity in defense of the pensions of all French workers. When governments fail to represent the will of the people, they must be shown that there is a price to pay. And without the labor of workers, all capitalist societies must come to a standstill.
Thus the working class of France is right to throw down their tools and do what must be done to defend their collective interests. And the French working class and Unions would also be right to do what needs to be done to bring about the fall of the French Government.
United we have the power to change our world. Today let that change take one step forward in Paris, in France, and then beyond! Together we are UNION STRONG!
-David Van Deusen, President of the Vermont AFL-CIO
Original source can be found here.
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