At the announcement of the validation by the Constitutional Council of the essentials of the pension reform, the small crowd gathered in front of the Rhône prefecture in Lyon suddenly became tense. Until then, 300 to 500 people had waited all afternoon in a good-natured atmosphere, multiplying puns on the “limited” government, with no illusions about the final decision.
“Most of the members of the Council were appointed by Macron, we have no illusions. The age measurement will undoubtedly be validated, “confided Nicolas Blanc, secretary general of the FO social organizations of the Rhône before the announcement. For Sonia Paccaud, departmental secretary of the CFDT, the shared initiative referendum would have been “a lesser evil” which would have made it possible to get out “of this period by giving the floor back to the people”. While waiting for the announcements from the inter-union, she was convinced that the mobilization would continue whatever happened in a “unitary” way.
For its part, the prefecture made no secret of being more worried about another rally “undeclared and announced on the networks of the ultra-left” which was to be held from 5 p.m. on Place des Terreaux and which ultimately did not occurred. But another wild demonstration was announced for 6:30 p.m. Place Sathonay. “There, it’s not going to go well. Seen as the police are mobilized, they know it too, ”confided Nicolas Blanc, who expected to see more people in the street after the decision of the Constitutional Council.
After the boos that greeted the announcement of the Constitutional Council’s decision, the band sang “Strike, wild demonstration blockage”, while the FO trade unionists shouted “and we too will go through in force”.
After the first angry reactions, the inter-union truck tried to regain the upper hand by announcing on the microphone: “Demonstrations starting next week. They do not realize the anger they have unleashed. In the aftermath, most of the demonstrators headed for Place Sathonay, with the brass band in the lead, leaving the union vans behind them.
