FRANCE YELLOW VESTS WEEK 61:  THE PENSION CUT STRUGGLE CONTINUES AS THE GOVERNMENT TRIES TO SHIFT PUBLIC OPINION

"I can only call on the French to be vigilant"

National Rally leader Marine Le Pen responds to the government's move to appear conciliatory on pension reform 1/11/2020

VIDEO LINK:     BFM-TV LIVE

The fight over French President Emmanuel Macron's plans for pension reform continues with a major day of protest today.  

The plan isn't officially being released to the public until Friday January 24th but bits and pieces are being leaked out probably to test and or influence public opinion.    A majority of public opinion still against the pension reform proposal.

Demonstrations in France are now centered around the plan to create a single nationwide pension plan that will cut benefits currently enjoyed by many French retirees.   Yellow Vests mix in with the anti-pension reform demonstrators.

Talk of "compromise" from the government but its only about the age of retirement and a willingness to tweak the new retirement age of 64 if the level of benefits will be restricted to the amount of money that the government calculates is available to be spent.

Today pension protesters and Yellow Vests alike will be on the streets as the union leadership of the protest movement plans further actions depending on what transpires today.

Last Saturday the "Yellow Number" Facebook published a minimum number of 27,846 participants in the protests.


But today's demonstrations are designated as a major mobilization of opposition to Macron's pension reform with the numbers certainly expected to be much, much higher on the streets.

RUPTLY LIVE VIDEO FEED PARIS 1/11/2020

Late in the afternoon today Prime Minister Edouard Philippe formally announced that the "pivotal age" where benefits are subtracted or added to pensions of 64 has been removed from the Macron pension reform plan.

His letter seeming to be a direct response to the massive crowds in the streets today but also designed to show the notion of being conciliatory as the end of protests traditionally lead to violent confrontations between militant anarchists and police.

This was the scene in Paris late this afternoon as the government appeared to be making a concession.....PARIS PROTEST CONFRONTATIONS 1/11/2020

Shifting public opinion to get a majority on the side of "pension reform" being an obvious goal of the government at this time.

This evening Macron putting out the word that he welcomed what he called "constructive compromise" over pension reform.

But National Rally leader and France's top opposition politician Marine Le Pen sees deceit in the decision to back away from the pivotal age describing its inclusion in the pension reform was a "dishonest negotiation technique" to enable the heart of the reform plan to be passed in the end.

She said the reform proposal of President Macron's government is:

"a pension reform which is deeply unfair, which will make millions of pensioners vulnerable"

The union leaders in France say tonight that they want the whole of the pension reform plan to be withdrawn.

Union organizers estimated some 150-thousand people on the streets of Paris for today's protest that ended at the Place de la Republique.    It is here that late in the afternoon confrontations and clashes broke out.

The Ministry of the Interior says that only 21-thousand protested in Paris today and 149-thousand nationwide.

The "Yellow Number" Facebook estimate published Saturday night a minimum of 344,156 protesters today nationwide.

Protests in other parts of France today like Marseille.....

MARSEILLE YELLOW VESTS WEEK 61 1/11/2020



And there was a confrontational atmosphere during protest in Nantes during the day and into the evening.....



NANTES PROTEST SATURDAY 1/11/2020



This 17 minute video summarizes the day in Toulouse with thousands int he streets some wearing Yellow Vests and others not wearing them.      Later in the evening the video shows the police employing tear gas and water cannon on demonstrators......



YELLOW VESTS WEEK 61 TOULOUSE 1/11/2020



The scene in Lille in the north of France captured today in this video collage of still pictures from the protest......



YELLOW VESTS WEEK 61 LILLE 1/11/2020


The protest continued today in Rouen with the Yellow Vests joining the orange vested union activists protesting the Macron pension reform plan.....


YELLOW VESTS WEEK 61 ROUEN 1/11/2020


And from Bordeaux in southwestern France this look at today's protest some 5 minutes or so of video showing police and protesters in close quarters with each other then a large rally with thousands in attendance.    Also a march in the street and demonstrations at a train station and along a highway.


The protest in Bordeaux continuing into the early evening.


YELLOW VESTS WEEK 61 BORDEAUX


Montpellier in the south of France a continuing site of protest....


YELLOW VESTS WEEK 61 MONTPELLIER 1/11/2020



The unions will continue to protest in France and continue their struggle with Yellow Vests against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plan for now.


More demonstrations during the upcoming and another set of protests set for next Saturday as the Yellow Vests continue in France.