“Either We Defend Social Solidarity, or French Society Will Break Down”
This winter France has seen the biggest strike wave in decades, as workers resist planned pension reforms. As Communist MP André Chassaigne told us, the strikers aren’t just opposing Emmanuel Macron’s neoliberal policies — they’re fighting to save the French social model itself.
Protesters at a rally against Emmanuel Macron and his proposed pension reform, on December 10, 2019 in Paris, France. (Kiran Ridley / Getty Images)
For over two months France has been ablaze, as workers across the country revolt against Emmanuel Macron’s reforms to the pension system. Public transport networks ground to a standstill over Christmas and the New Year period as workers stayed out on strike. While these actions have now dimmed, unions have called a fresh strike day for February 17.
For many, the response to Macron’s reform isn’t just about pensions — it unites a wider movement seeking to defend the French social model. Footage of ballet dancers going out on strike, or of police beating striking firefighters in the streets of Paris, illustrated a broad opposition to the increasingly unpopular president.
André Chassaigne is a Communist Party member of parliament representing the Puy-de-Dôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. In an interview in mid-January he sat down with “A Season in Hell” editor Ethan Earle. They discussed Macron’s proposed pension reform, the movements seeking to block it — and the possibilities of rapprochement on the French left.
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