U.K News

FRENCH: Unions Buoyant As 1.27 Million French Protest Pension Reform

Published

2 years ago

2023-01-31

PARIS, France — According to the Interior Ministry, an estimated 1.27 million people took to the streets of French cities, towns, and villages on Tuesday in massive protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to raise the retirement age by two years.

In a big win for labor unions, more people showed up than at the last round of strikes and protests against the proposed pension system changes. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne had to say that her government “hears” the “questions and doubts” raised by reforms that would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The eight unions that organized the protests announced new demonstrations for February 7 and 11.

“In the face of widespread opposition, the government must pull back on its reform,” said Patricia Drevon of the Workers’ Force union, who stood with other union members in a rare public show of unity.

According to the powerful CGT union, 2.8 million protesters marched in french on Tuesday.

The Franch Love To Strike

National strikes and protests were a litmus test for Macron and his opponents. The government has said that it is determined to keep Macron’s promise to change French pension system, which he made during the election. But a lot of people will be against the bill, which will help labor unions and left-leaning lawmakers stop it.

Later Tuesday, Prime Minister Borne extended a tentative olive branch to protesters and unions, tweeting: “The retirement reform raises questions and doubts. We can hear them.”

This means that changes are possible, but not necessarily a full withdrawal, which is what protesters have been calling for. According to her tweet, the upcoming debate in parliament “will allow us… to enrich our project with a goal” of ensuring the future of France’s pension system. “We bear responsibility.”

Borne recently stated that raising the retirement age to 64 is “no longer negotiable.” On Monday, Macron defended the reform as “vital.”

According to police, 87,000 people took to the streets in the capital, up from 80,000 in the first major pension protest on Jan. 19, when authorities claimed 1 million people demonstrated nationwide. Estimates from the union had more than doubled that figure.

Radicals And Riot Police Clash

The otherwise peaceful Paris march was marred by sporadic clashes between a small group of black-clad radicals and riot police, who fired tear gas near Les Invalides, the site of Napoleon’s tomb, where the march ended. There were 30 arrests there and along the route, according to police.

11,000 police officers were on duty for an estimated 250 protests across the country.

“The government is currently backed into a corner. “It only needs to withdraw its reform,” Erik Meyer of the Sud Rail union, one of eight unions that organized the march, told BFM TV.

Veteran left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon praised the protests as “historic” and predicted Macron’s defeat.

“We don’t see such a mass mobilization very often,” he said in the southern city of Marseille. “It’s a type of citizen insurgency.”

The demonstrations were not limited to France’s major cities. On Ouessant, a tiny western isle of about 800 people off the coast of Brittany, about 100 protesters gathered outside Mayor Denis Palluel’s office and marched, he said.

Retiring At A Reasonable Age Is Important To The French People

The prospect of having to work longer hours alarmed mariners on the island with difficult ocean-going jobs, according to Palluel.

“It’s important to retire at a reasonable age because life expectancy isn’t very long,” he says.

Protests by people of all ages were loud and colorful, with sirens, bullhorns, and smoke bombs, continuing a long tradition of taking democracy to the streets in France.

Strikes disrupted services across France on Tuesday, in addition to the protests.

According to SNCF, most train services in Paris, other regions, and France’s flagship high-speed network connecting cities and major towns have been disrupted. Station closures and cancellations also impacted the Paris Metro.

Power workers in key positions, who are not allowed to go on strike, showed their support for protesters by temporarily cutting electricity supplies without causing blackouts, according to the company that makes the electricity, EDF.

Local Striking Impacted Schools

Civil servant Jamila Sariac, 60, believes the pension system should be left alone.

“Social protection is a milestone of our society, a milestone that the government wishes to break,” she said, adding that strikes would put more pressure on the government than protests. “We owe it to our forefathers who contributed to France’s wealth.”

Said Belaiba, who works in construction, was one of the people whose train from Paris to Lyon in the morning was canceled, so he had to wait. Nonetheless, the 62-year-old said he was opposed to the proposed reform.

“My job is physically demanding,” he admitted. “You can’t keep going past 64.”

Strikes also impacted schools, with the Education Ministry reporting that roughly one-quarter of teachers remained absent from work — fewer than in the previous round of protests.

Walkouts in oil refineries were also reported in French media. Because of the strike, radio station France Inter played music instead of its usual morning talk shows and apologized to its listeners.

SOURCE – (AP)

U.K News

Keir Starmer Rejects Meeting With WW2 Veteran Over Her Frozen Pension

Published

2 weeks ago

2024-12-04

Geoff Brown

"It's the injustice of it that is so unfair, the fact that we were never warned."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected a request from a 99-year-old WW2 for a meeting to discuss the frozen state pension policy for citizens living abroad. Starmer declined the meeting but offered an alternative meeting with Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds.

Anne Puckridge, who turns 100 this month, went from her home in Canada to agitate Keir Starmer’s Labour government over the state pension freeze.

The World War II veteran told the BBC that she is “angry” and “heartbroken” following a meeting with the pensions minister, who led her to believe that the government will not reconsider its policy of freezing the state pensions of some British people living abroad.

Anne Puckridge is one of approximately 453,000 British retirees living overseas who do not receive an annual increase in their state pension.

Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds agreed to a meeting after Sir Keir Starmer’s request to meet was denied owing to purported “pressures on his diary.”

Ms. Puckridge stated that the meeting in Parliament left her feeling “bitterly disappointed” and “disgusted”.

She stated that she had the idea Reynolds had been “polite enough and kind enough to come in and spend her time with her,” but that her mind had already been made up before the meeting began.

Ms Puckridge stated that she and her other campaigners would have to think carefully about what they could do from now on, but she assured them that they would take action.

State Pension Minister Reynolds thanked Ms Puckridge for the meeting and for sharing her insights.

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) representative stated that the government recognizes that “people move abroad for various reasons, and we provide clear information on how this can affect their pensions.”

The policy of increasing the UK state pension for recipients living abroad has existed for many years.

Since she relocated to Canada in 2001 at the age of 76 to live closer to her daughter, Ms Puckridge has received £72.50 (C$129.00) per week.

Her state pension is now less than half the £169.50 (C$302.00) paid to seniors still residing in the United Kingdom. She told the BBC that frozen pensions touch all aspects of life.

“You’ve got to be careful about entertainment,” she told me. “You must realize that you cannot be as kind to your grandkids as you would like.

“You feel you’ve lost all sense of dignity, the government has thrown you away, you know, out of sight out of mind.”

Ms. Puckridge stated that when she alerted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that she was moving to Canada, “they never said a word about [my] pension being frozen”.

“The first I knew about it was when my first rise was due,” she recalled.

“I didn’t understand it. So I wrote and enquired about it, and I was told no… you will not receive any additional pension rises when you leave the UK.” She said, “It’s the injustice of it that is so unfair, the fact that we were never warned.”

Paris Trash Strike Ends, Pension Protest Numbers Shrink

U.K News

Air Force Drones Spotted Over UK Military Bases

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-11-29

Geoff Brown

The drones were not considered hostile, the USAF said,

British military expertise has been brought in to assist in identifying persons responsible for flying Air Force drones near US military locations. According to the BBC, 60 RAF troops have been dispatched to assist the US Air Force with its probe.

The Air Force drones were not deemed hostile, according to the USAF, who added that the sightings “fluctuated and varied between the bases” and “ranged in sizes and configurations”.

According to the Ministry of Defence, “We are supporting the US Air Force response.”

The announcement follows several recent reports of unmanned aerial vehicles sighted near RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell in adjacent Norfolk.

There have been other reports of drone activity overnight. According to the USAF, the vehicles were few in number and modest in size.

A representative for the US Air Forces in Europe stated, “We can confirm that there were sightings yesterday during nighttime hours, but the number fluctuated and varied between the bases throughout the night.”

The official stated that since the first sightings on November 20th, there has been “no impact on residents or infrastructure, and they have not been identified as hostile.”

However, the Air Force drones remained under surveillance “to ensure the safety and security of the installations.”

They said, “We request individuals in the area to contact either local police or security forces if they see anything suspicious.”

‘Treat threats seriously’

Officials in the United States and the United Kingdom have not said who is responsible for the recent drone activity.

However, the BBC understands there were worries that a state actor could be involved.

In recent months, intelligence officials have warned of increasing Russian sabotage operations against Western countries supporting Ukraine.

RAF Mildenhall is primarily home to the USAF’s 100th Air Refuelling Wing; RAF Lakenheath is home to USAF F-35A and F-15E fighter jets; and RAF Feltwell is mainly concerned with logistics and provides housing for military personnel.

A spokesman for the MoD, which owns the bases, said: “We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites.

“We are supporting the US Air Force response.”

The USAF has not said who it believed to be behind the incidents.

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U.K News

General Election Petition in UK Hits 2 Million Signatures

Published

4 weeks ago

2024-11-26

Geoff Brown

Starmer has ruled out an general election after a petition reached two million signatures

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out holding an early general election after a petition calling for a second vote garnered two million signatures.

Over the weekend, a petition calling for another general election was started on the UK Parliament website. It cited Starmer’s failure to keep all his pledges made in the run-up to the previous election. By Monday mid-morning, it had surpassed two million signatures.

When asked about the petition, Starmer said he was “not surprised” that some individuals who did not vote for Labour in the previous election want a “re-run” of the poll.

He claimed that he had “inherited a lot of problems” from the previous administration and had resolved to “take the hard decisions first.”

Starmer ruled out an early general election, stating that only the Prime Minister can request that the King call a general election; it simply will not happen, he said.

This petition, started last week and sponsored by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, calls on the government to schedule a new general election.
To sign a petition, you must verify that you are a British citizen or resident and provide a postcode.

The petition states, “I would prefer there to be another general election. I believe the present Labour government has broken the pledges they made before the last election.”

The petition comes only five months after Labour won the July general election with 9.7 million votes and 412 seats in the House of Commons.

However, the Labour Party garnered only 35% of the vote, the lowest percentage gained by a single-party administration since the conclusion of WWII.

Some of the policies implemented by Starmer and his Labour government have received significant criticism, including an inheritance tax on farms, a reduction in winter heating payments, an increase in employers’ national insurance, and applying VAT to private school fees.

According to the most recent Ipsos political pulse poll, the Labour Party is unpopular, with 28% of the public favoring it and 49% opposing it.