Rebellion against neoliberalism in France: the front line advances live from the Opera neighborhood in the heart of Paris

The Government of France suffers this Thursday its ninth day of general strike in recent months by the unions against the pension reform.

This new strike already registered roadblocks, the closure of some schools and shops and the interruption of train services in various cities of the European country.

For this new call to protest, there were expected to be around 300 demonstrations throughout the country, in which between 600,000 and 800,000 people will participate against the pension reform, reports France 24.

However, the media reports indicated that more than 3.5 million people were in the streets this Thursday, and described this mobilization as the most important since May 1968.

However, data from the Ministry of the Interior reveal that the march against Macron and his reform brought together 1.089 million people in France this Thursday.

As can be seen in audiovisual records, the first line advances live from the Opera neighborhood in the heart of Paris.

Exclusively for the media El Ciudadano, Claudio Pulgar, an Equality activist in Paris, asserted that this day (Thursday) «we will remember it as a historic day» for France.

«We are on the streets of Paris, in the most important mobilization in the last two months, and the most important in the last 50 years. After two months of mobilizations, and after a week of uninterrupted demonstrations, the biggest ‘promoter’ of the revolt is (Emmanuel) Macron. There are millions of people on the street, there is no transportation, there are no trains. We are going to remember March 23 as a historic day», pointed out Pulgar.

The sector most affected by the strike in France is transport, be it by road, plane or train. This, after dozens of workers blocked access roads to the Parisian Roissy-Charles De Gaulle airport in the morning, forcing some travelers to arrive on foot.

According to a Prensa Latina dispatch, the airport employees, who blocked the entrance, announced that they will leave the protest late in the morning to join the demonstration that will take place in the Bastille square against the pension reform.

The unpopular pension plan promoted by the government of President Emmanuel Macron raises the retirement age to 64 and increases the number of years that people must make contributions for a full pension.Gas stations without fuel in various parts of the country

Given the roadblocks, there is a strong shortage of fuel in different areas of France.

The Ministry of Energy Transition announced on Thursday that «given the supply tensions in certain departments» it has decided to extend by 48 hours the obligation to return to work for some employees of the warehouses in the port of Fos-sur-Mer, near Marseilles.

In this region, more than 65% of the fuel supply stations lack gasoline or diesel.

Official data – revealed by France 24 – indicates that throughout the country, at least 17.9% of gas stations do not have one of the two most used fuels, while 8.8% do not have any of these two fuels.

The blockade is also registered in the vicinity of the Gonfreville refinery facilities in Normandy, in charge of processing all of France’s kerosene, the fuel that is used to run planes and whose absence could also affect air traffic.

These mobilizations were joined by the Fire Department workers, who were applauded by the protesters.

In spanish:

Rebelión contra el neoliberalismo en Francia: la primera línea avanza en directo desde el barrio Ópera en pleno centro de París (Videos)