Rain is not the only explanation. A year ago today, 30,000 people took to the streets under the sun in Bayonne, according to the inter-union association. Still according to her, there were 1,700 of them this Wednesday, May 1st. “The pension reform has been there”, says a demonstrator, looking a little crestfallen.
“Discouragement”
The mobilization has subsided since the adoption of the reform and the postponement of the legal retirement age, recognizes Mercédès Graciet, the general secretary of the CFDT-Basque Country: “There is maybe a certain discouragement and people who say to themselves that demonstrating is not of much use. Our watchword was that it was not inevitable.she assures, pointing “the savings that are being asked of us today in terms of social rights, reduction in the duration of unemployment insurance, reduction in ALD coverage [affection de longue durée]”.
Appearance of Palestinian flags
Another notable difference, a new flag has found a discreet but noticeable place this year, alongside the colorful flags of the unions: that of Palestine. Several demonstrators, wearing a keffiyeh on their shoulders, the traditional headdress of Palestinian farmers, took advantage of this day to demand a ceasefire in the Middle East. This is the case of Lina, 17, a first grade student at René Cassin high school in Bayonne: “There are thousands of innocent people dying under Israeli bombs.” “This genocide is unacceptable, even if the geopolitical situation is very complex,” adds his friend Baptiste.
Louison Leroy
But young people are not the only ones sensitive to the cause. Terexa hung a Palestinian flag in the halls. Retired from national education, it assumes the parallel between workers and the Palestinian people. “May 1st is a day of struggle for all the oppressed”recalling the 35,000 deaths, according to a latest Hamas report, in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s response after the terrorist attack of October 7.
“May 1st is a vector of communication for all associations. There is Herrian Bizi and Alda on housing… The street is for everyone”, indicates Mercédès Graciet, from the CFDT-Basque Country.
