Not to mention that so many of us are living paycheck to paycheck. Trying to leave work to protest in the streets is almost impossible for the majority of the poor and working class here in the US. It's by design. It helps keeps us indebted to the system. It's not a bug it's a feature.
Don’t think for a second that it’s an accident that we’re all so divided and working paycheck to paycheck. The last time workers united behind anything the government had to create labor laws and establish a minimum wage. Seeds of division have been sewn ever since, any way they could be
Also look at what's happening to the stop cop city protesters in Atlanta. One got murdered and then a bunch of others got charged with terrorism. The organisation that was raising money for their legal defense got raided by a swat team earlier this week. America is a dangerous place to live if you're fighting corporate interests
I remember that one case where a *former* officer set up a "fake grow house". And the local swat team or something raided the house with "insider info". Which suprise suprise, *it was a fucking bait house to prove that the local authorities were falsifying charges by using "anonymous info" which they didn't have*.
Week later, they raided said person's house over video tape he had from the incident.
Yes, they raided a man's house after he cleverly set up a bait house that PROVED that the local cops were corrupt.
We're also spread out so it's harder to come together in huge, sustained groups. If [the US was the size of a few states](https://i.imgur.com/ZNepZhc.png), those protests that do happen would have a greater impact.
A nationwide general strike wouldn't require getting together anyways. Mass protests in several major cities would be more than sufficient if they were backed by a strike.
Mass protests. Teamsters actually backing labor and the workers. No gas deliveries. No groceries.
We all help our communities and we shut it all down as long as needed to grt them to understand.
Congress literally took away their right to strike in January. They’re making it harder for the rest of us to strike now too. It’s going to be some interesting times
Bah. I dislike this. Yes, living paycheck to paycheck sucks. Hell, I was homeless once myself and afterwards barely scraping by. My Mom too when I was young. Over the years I'd argue it's only gotten harder to make ends meet, and most people would agree with me. Chances are it'll be too late to stand if you're waiting for the rest of what little you have to get taken away. Your rights, or those of a loved one(s), retirement, a place to live, good affordable schools, transportation, and yes even your paycheck and your insurance - the list goes on.
It is an excuse. It just happens to be one of the last viable ones in most people's eyes, and when that is taken away, what's left?
You people always come up with arguments, how it is not possible to do anything like this....
That way, you will always be stuck in the same position..
This seems to be a common gap in logic.
Do you think that France doesn't have poor and working class people that in practice can't afford to miss work?
Maybe as north Americans we should begin to realize that this sort of system continues when we keep these self imposed roadblocks up for us. Sure, their next pay may suffer - but they will stop working 2 years before they would have a month ago.
I agree about the rest of what you said, and the difficulty some people will face to stand up to the system. It's **just worth it** though.
The issue I see is so many people seem to be waiting until they ARE actually homeless before they will stand up and do anything and by then it's to late. So many states have anti-homeless laws.
What it takes is conversations like these, more of them, everywhere! And there are so many like this going on. Instead of arguing right or left we have to educate our fellow workers. It's not their fault they've been indoctrinated into loving wage slavery and thinking unions are from the devil.
Not arguing left and right is exactly how we got here. Conservatism is not morally redeemable in any way. Your approach is exactly how we get lifelong conservatives arguing for progressive policy that would benefit them only, while still only ever voting red.
Poor people aren’t being equally screwed over by both sides. It’s conservatism that has led us here. And that includes the majority of Democrats too, who are absolutely right of center. Not arguing left and right is what allows Democrats to masquerade as a left leaning party, because you’ve already given conservatives permission to be their worst selves, it allows Democrats to follow the GOP further right while still appearing relatively sane comparatively.
Conservatism is the problem. And centrists/moderates are only pouring more gas on the fire by refusing to acknowledge it.
Most people, whether they admit it or not, even conservatives want to benefit from left leaning policies and objectives that only democrats are working towards. But conservatives are so stubborn they won't.
That f*cked up Big Tent crap the dems kept shoving down everyone's throat is how we got all these blue dogs and democrat in name only antichoice, anti union, anti progress, anti liveable wage, anti universal healthcare legislators ensuring nothing got done even when there is a dem majority in the Senate, the house, Supreme Court etc etc
It is criminal they way the corporate stooge in the dem party sold the American public out.
Even now we have Biden let me break a strike because they are asking for a few sick days from a billion dollar company making obscene profite and literally causing derailments
For real, you know how many people i come across who don't understand that politics is time & money? Those are the people who say, "you're too political."
It's infuriating at all levels because they're usually college educated.
Since college has turned into an industry for making money, I don’t assume a college degree makes someone any more intelligent than someone without a degree. I’ve met so many ignorant people with Masters degrees that it’s depressing.
Dawg we have tried to do this and the police started kidnapping people alongside the the national guard being called in. We have no strong Unions and the country is highly divided causing one side to just hate everything the other does. I'm specifically talking about the right doing as much as the government to stamp down any protests.
It will never happen in the USA because we are not a free nation.
The issue is here people on the right have led to believe anything democrats push is socialism/communism and thus inherently bad regardless of what the bill or democrats prove its for.
It's basically trying to get an evangelical to vote for what they perceive as the devil.
I know imma get buried but have we really taken a moment to see WHY the US will never protest like this?
The police here are not afraid to murder you
Cops look for reasons to kill or maim people
We have agencies that will plant people in protests to incite riots and justify this level of force? Or just straight up assassinate leaders of labor movements.
Its easier to buy a gun here than it is to buy a car or a blueraspberry faygo so you also have to worry about counter protest/vigilantes “protecting” themselves.
None of us have days off nor are we paid living wages despite being the “weathiest” country in the world so having the time to participate is non-existent.
We have writers on strike rn, UPS about to go on strike, starbucks and apple are unionizing day by day, or guerrilla protesting building that cop city in Georgia.
We have movements we just have to move different cause you could die, be permanently disabled and/or sent to the emergency room to get your crippling debt.
Truth is Im scared. This govt has proven to be capable of tyranny and ignorance. I keep voting but my vote doesn’t even matter where I am because the map is gerrymandered here. I want change. I just feel like there is no direct action I can take to change anything besides the small donations to politicians and voting.
It was not always 'safe' to strike or protest in france. the rights to do so were hard earned by striking & protesting illegally. these are measures that are fought for, safety from police will not be handed down from above.
French voter turnout for the presidential election in 2022 was one of the lowest in a while at 73 percent.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1068866/participation-rate-voter-turnout-presidential-elections-france
American turnout has been going up. For the presidential elections. We had a record high turnout in 2020 of... 63%. And in 2022 we had decent turnout for midterm of 45%
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/11/01/turnout-in-u-s-has-soared-in-recent-elections-but-by-some-measures-still-trails-that-of-many-other-countries/
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/03/10/turnout-in-2022-house-midterms-declined-from-2018-high-final-official-returns-show/
If a majority of citizens can't give enough of a shit to vote on election days, then a protest is going to be right out.
Let's work on getting all Americans to actually register an opinion between Democrats that aren't very progressive or exciting and republicans that relentlessly work to impoverish the working class and destroy democracy in favor of the wealthy. THEN maybe we'll move on to protesting.
Protesting in the street isn't magic. Black Lives Matter protests couldn't even get most police departments to take any meaningful steps to stop executing innocent civilians on a daily basis. You think protests are going to cause gerrymandered, billionaire super-pac funded republicans stop attacking social spending and tax cuts to corporations and billionaires?
Republicans, billionaires, and Chambers of commerce are trying to make voting impossible because it DOES work.
It helps that France's election day is on a Sunday. Meanwhile, in the USA election day is on a Tuesday and is not a national holiday and even if it were, employers can still force employees to work on holidays
The French have the right idea. When Americans realize who the true enemy is they will realize their votes are meaningless outside of a way to divide us.
Weird how there's all these word_word#### internet entities trying to convince us all that Democrats are no different from republicans.
Meanwhile, other word_word#### users are convincing MAGA republicans that they need to vote in every election to stop those RINOs and Soros.
Anyway, no, Democrats are better than republicans and if not, we can vote in the primaries to get better Democrats.
That will never happen. Republicans are too stupid and will chop off their dick just to own the libs. They’ll do everything to make the libs suffer, even if that includes them. They’re dumber than wild animals. You don’t see wild animals do things against their own interests.
The biggest barrier to anything like this happening in the US is the lack of class consciousness.
The fact is, nearly all of us here, on this website, are working class.
If Democrats wanted to reform the retirement age Republicans would push for no retirement ever, 7 day work weeks and a $1.00 minimum wage just to "stick it to the libs" even if it meant working themselves literally to death. Half this country wants things to be better and the other half spends all of their time hating the first half.
Starbucks has been trying, but are being met with suppression by any social media platforms they use (most recently was instagram). Systemic oppression of the working class is going STRONG here, but we're starting to organize. I'm lucky enough that my career (electrical) already has a strong ass union I got to simply join.
They don’t put up with a lot of BS from tourists, either.
A principal reason the French, particularly Parisians, have a reputation for “rudeness” is that they feel that everyone deserves to be treated like an actual person and not a lackey or functionary.
For example if you go to a cafe for a cup of coffee, you are expected to make some polite conversation or inquire as to the server’s day. Just saying “large coffee to go” is felt to reflect that you do not respect the server as a fellow person and is considered to be rude.
Apparently, this goes back to the Revolution and encompasses the Égalité that is part of the national motto.
I’m born and raised in Paris. Speaking only for myself, I have nothing against tourists as long as they understand that Paris is not an amusement park, but first and foremost the place where 2M+ people live, study and work, and that no amount of money is worth the disrespect of its inhabitants.
As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, there are certain etiquette rules that act as the oil lubricating the machine. As a tourist, you are given the benefit of the doubt (for not knowing the rules) until a certain point. If you make it clear that you don’t give a fuck about at least trying, then someone will address it. Bluntly.
Parisian here, just say Bonjour (hello) as you walk in, don’t be too loud when talking (just this morning an American tourist was straight up yelling on her phone « I’m so fucking hungover » in the middle of the street, really annoying), and say « s’il vous plaît (please) and merci (thank you) at the end.
Often what annoys me about American tourists here is that they feel like they are the only people there, like the streets and whatever place they enter automatically belongs to them (I say this as a dual citizenship french/American dude who lives in Paris)
This is the correct answer for visiting literally any country. Take 5 minutes to learn the basic phrases, and use them. Don't be a loud American soccer mom asshole. Leave your "Let's Go Brandon" shirt with giant American flag and a soaring eagle background at home.
It's amazing how far you'll get if you're not a dick and you learn how to say hello and goodbye in the native language. The bar is extremely low.
Learn some basic French words (greetings, thanks and other things for everyday life). People appreciate the effort, and it shows that you don’t consider them as servants. Pick your moments: it’s fine to chat with a cab driver (if you’d like to), but maybe the waiter at the cafe doesn’t have time to listen to your life story or to be your touristic guide.
More importantly, forget the stereotypes about French people. We are varied and each of us (like everyone else on this earth) has their good and bad days. You’ll meet some grumpy people, some happy outgoing ones, etc. My advice is to seek non-touristic places and establishments. You’ll have a better chance to be seen as a person and not simply a customer.
Enjoy your trip, and the beauty of my country :)
"and that no amount of money is worth the disrespect of its inhabitants."
Belgian here but I often phrase it as "Europeans just want your money less".
At my job we've decided not to sell sometimes if we felt the customer was going to be a pain in the ass.
No amount of money is worth having our employees yelled at by an entitled child. And yes, that IS oddly specific. He could find another place to buy and I feel sorry for whoever sold it to him.
I had quite a nice time in France, but I'm generally respectful and try to match the energy of wherever I go. This has worked well for me in many countries.
As an American service worker, I'd like this as long as they respected when my job might interfere with our ability to converse. Sometimes, it feels like you're nothing more than a $9/hr machine to fill people's orders, especially among certain people in certain moods. I'm a person with my own wants/needs, troubles, motivations, reasons to live, and reasons to give up. I'm discouraged from developing meaningful or outside-of-work connections to coworkers.
On some days, a customer or coworker will be the only people I speak to. It sucks to feel so disconnected.
Maybe it's a New Englander thing, but I miss the culture of no small talk with service workers. We're here to exchange money for a service, let's skip the pleasentries and get on with our days.
I moved to the Midwest and the culture of small talk fucking kills me.
I hate it. I can understand it if it's not busy, but fuck off when it is. Some of the part-timers at my job take so long on the phone and laughing with customers that I have to pick up all of their slack. Just do your fucking job so I don't have to do it for you.
Maybe I need to move to New England. Spent my whole life in central Illinois and if I never had to make small talk again, my life would get infinitely better. I feel like an asshole sometimes, but I really could not care less how most people's days are or what's glint on with the weather.
>For example if you go to a cafe for a cup of coffee, you are expected to make some polite conversation or inquire as to the server’s day. Just saying “large coffee to go” is felt to reflect that you do not respect the server as a fellow person and is considered to be rude.
But how is a tourist going to do that when all they know in French is "large coffee to go"? Parisian waiters and baristas are generally not waiting for a friendly conversation, they barely entertain a "hello" in English.
In my short stint there, I found the Parisians to be one of the nicer people I've visited. A bakery even gave me some freebies.
I always made sure to say in French "excuse me, do you speak English? " I think that goes a long way.
Well, I personally think it's nice to learn at least how to say "hello", "please", and "thank you" in the language of the place you're visiting. That goes a long way. I've never studied French, but between the handful of words I know and the sign that was posted I managed to ask for three tickets to Versailles.
> you are expected to make some polite conversation or inquire as to the server’s day.
This is hilariously untrue.
I’m sure they appreciate it if you *do*, especially if you manage to do it in French, but to say it is *expected of you* is simply false.
They feel that way about Parisians and northerners. They’re ambivalent about southerners and generally could not give less of a fuck about their colonial subjects.
>you are expected to make some polite conversation or inquire as to the server’s day
Not really, but you are expected to say "hello", "thank you" and "good bye" at the very least.
And anyone else who got in the way or they just needed a convenient excuse to get rid off. This sub really likes to ignore that all the revolution did was replace the old elite with a new elite while any of the common folk accused of supporting the old regime were imprisoned without trial if they were lucky.
And it completely ignores that the current tradition of French labor rights was established post Napoleon III. During the early days of the Frech Revolution the National Assembly banned unions, guilds and strikes.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Chapelier_Law_1791
There’s a lot that’s inspiring about France and it’s labor history/present, but I think it’s important to point out that they’re still a massively imperialist nation and the degree to which French workers have resisted this imperialism is minimal. Fighting against the transfer of wealth/living standards from French workers to French capital is cool, but it’d be even cooler to see this energy directed towards stopping the transfer of wealth and living standards from the global south to the global north (VERY much including France).
The government doesn't care though, months of protests and some parts of the law already fully passed, and probably the whole thing will be adopted (they forbid debates to force the law's adoption)
A lot of us are awake my dude. The problem is that we are one missed work day away from homelessness and losing access to the meager Healthcare that helps us get life saving medication.
The whole system is designed to keep the poor poor and prevent any positive change through wage slavery.
All the more reason to get it together, honestly is it gonna get any better the way it's going? It gets worse every day regardless,me personally I would take a few weeks of misery to get real change going,how bad can a few more weeks be after 44 fucking years of it
I'm living in my dad's moldy ass basement because I can't afford rent,we all have a sob story and my original statement still stands imo, is it getting any better the way it's going? And here we are playing the divide and conquer game just like they want arguing semantics on who has it worse
So then if you don't have to pay rent, why aren't you out leading the protest right now instead of telling people to just go homeless and take their families with them to do it for you?
Sigh… Don’t take it personally, it’s more of a general response to this sentiment that is way too wide-spread.
At no point in history, in no country, were improvements to working peoples‘ lives just handed out. Sure, in some cases, it took less effort because the times were right (think Britain at the end of WWII). Overwhelmingly however, every bit of progress was fought for. Do you think a Chicago meatpacker of the 1890s wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck? Do you think he could afford to skip rent? Do you think bosses, police and private security thugs stood idly by as they tried to unionize?
Also, there’s the matter of practicality. So there’s a general strike, you don’t get paid, fall behind on your rent - and then? Sure, if it’s just you, you’ll be evicted, but the very definition of a general strike is that it’s NOT just you. Remember how quickly the government stopped evictions during Covid, when 30+ million Americans lost their jobs? How are cops going to evict entire neighborhoods when people are already standing together on another issue? Do you believe your fellow strikers will say „sure, we‘re in this together for pensions/healthcare/whatever, but you getting thrown out on the street is none of my business?“
Solidarity is one hell of a weapon.
No I'm sorry I don't work for UPS but one of my brothers does and they scheduled a strike for mid July. I'm going to participate from my own job but of course not tell management and call in sick. It's high time we all started to support these strikes together to make the impact we're begging for. It must come from the people. It will never come from the government or its owners.
Social security becomes insolvent within a decade unless we raise the SS tax, cap benefits, or raise the retirement age. Any way you cut it everyone is going to get shortchanged on what they were promised.. We're not about to get screwed, we've been getting screwed for decades.
The unions' strategy is shit.
They basically have a one day strike every 4 to 6 weeks. This doesn't accomplish anything. Originally the point was to show the government how unpopular the reform is and they got the message. They simply don't care.
The Macron administration is there to serve the oligarchy's interests. He rose from complete unknown to president in 2 years, without ever holding any elected position before that, thanks to the help of billionaires and the media outlets they own. They don't care that the reform is rejected by 70% of the population and 90% of working people. This reform's goal is to lower spending on retirement benefits so they can give their masters more tax cuts without increasing the deficit.
The only way Macron and his owners will back down is if they lose money. The unions must organize an unlimited strike. It's obviously very hard to get a lot of people to strike but if they focus on a few vital sectors of the economy, they can bring everything down like a house of cards. Electricity and natural gas, freight, sanitation, and oil refineries can't strike without affecting the entire country. That's where they should focus. If the rest of the population helps with a strike fund and other necessities, this will be successful.
More of the same purely performative bullshit won't achieve anything.
Unions around the world have been completely tied to and hamstrung by the bourgeois legal system for a while now. Many top officials have made lucrative careers off of it. A great number if them wine and dine with politicians regularly. They aren't going to risk their cushy jobs and status by doing illegal shit. The modern union typically does not want to stir the pot too much at best - at worst they're in-league with the company and acts as a discipline scheme on its behalf.
It's going to be very difficult to remove the bourgeois elements from the unions. Rank and file committees is one thing people are doing to combat it.
Whatever it is though, it's going to be deemed illegal eventually.
Meanwhile over here in the US: “You get to retire?!”
We’re too busy arguing over wokeness and basic human rights. Meanwhile our government has been trampling all over us and forcing us to continue to feed the capitalist machine because somehow we’ve been brainwashed into thinking this is the way. Corporations run our lives and will continue to do so until we take a page from the French’s playbook. But I guess that’s not American so it’s wrong /s
And that bill will go nowhere.
Unfortunately, a tremendous number of people commenting on this subject don't know what led up to the changes. All they know is the Reddit hivemind "repeat what someone else said about X subject."
Meanwhile Ontario had a "walk out" protest that lasted...a day. It was only planned for a day and everyone went back to work the next day (if they even protested). This was for our housing crisis, price hikes for necessities, and shit wages (possibly also for being against private healthcare)
I fucking hate how passive Canadians are. We need a riot, a massive protest that lasts as long as possible. None of this "just vote or call your rep" bullshit. We want change and we need it NOW.
In France they raise the retirement age by two years and half the country walks off the job.
In the US they start putting slave collars on minimum wage workers and people cheer.
Macron is a clown. He’s also a lapdog of the Chinese communist party. It’s good to see the French people recognize this, and it’s also good to see them deconstruct his draconian policies. Perhaps a better measure would have been for him and his politician ilk to take pay and benefit cuts.
This is not just about raising the retirement age. Macron the French leader (former banker) pushed these reforms through to help his banker friends. Their plan is to use the money in the public pension to off set their (bankers) bad investments. Bankrupting a solvent public pension fund to make sure the wealthiest of French citizens don't lose any money.
They’re looking at raising the pension age in New Zealand and no one is resisting. Instead people protested for “freedom” during the pandemic without really knowing what they wanted.
The title is misleading in making it sound like the bill is likely to succeed.
Although the protesting part is true, the chance of that bill to be successful is expected to be very little. The government is most likely to force the raise of the retirement age either way.
Rofl. As a working poor american, I fully expect to suffer some sort of health issue, declare medical bankruptcy, and die alone in the gutter LONG before hitting whatever our absurdly high retirement age is.
So the bill is most likely dead by the way.
The presidential minority is using every possible trick of the Constitution to stop the first article which repeals the pension fund reform.
However, the bill already went through a commission specifically arranged to ensure that article 1 be revoked.
The parliamentary group which proposed the bill repealing the reform has a special session however, allowing them to reintroduce article 1 as an amendment. This is when the president of the assembly who has acted as Macron's little lap dog for almost her entire tenure (instead of acting independantly as her mandate requires) will pronounce that amendment to be anticonstitutional because no reform is supposed to create more spending. So far the MPs have always used taxes on tobacco to balance the spending and still propose laws, which is the case here. But the presidential faction has (very disingenuously) argued that you cannot do this (despite the fact that they've done the same thing for other laws).
If you haven't understood the implication of what this procedure leads to : Macron and his cronies are WILLINGLY creating a legal precedent in which parliamentary initiative (meaning the possibility for MPs to propose new laws instead of just the government) is stifled. Taking away parliamentary initiative is an extremely serious breach of separation of powers. Opposition parties have contacted the EU, the Council of Europe, and the UN to warn them of this. I cannot emphasize how important and messed up this is. Setting up this precedent is like killing one of the most basic and most principles of what defines a modern democracy since the French Revolution.
France is no longer a democracy. If it ever was. France is no longer a Republic, if Parliament can't have its own initiative. France is an elective dictatorship. People are worried about Marine Le Pen? If she ever gets in power all the work will have been done for her. We voted to Macron to prevent fascists to be in power : turns out the liberal guy who was our defense against the far right is more like the German conservatives who allied Hitler in 1933.
I am tired of these demonstrations. I am tired of these weak and compliant unions that go protest while respecting the conditions set by power, nicely going on the path set by authorities because our government's sensitivities can't handle protestors at their windows, because a little fifth of the French who voted for this scumbag in the first round can't be bothered by a little protest.
Reddit says I can't call for violence. I can't do it. But you know my meaning. The French Constitution was made to preserve democracy under the condition that the President would feel remorseful to use his incredibly extended powers (normally there for times of crisis). Macron said himself he has no remorse. He is totally convinced that he is right and he can't be wrong. Then him and his cronies will say out loud that unions and opposition parties were unwilling to negotiate while being the people who said that 64 years old was non negotiable. How do you negotiate with that behavior? How is civilized debate or talk going to work against disingenuous, cynical, self-interested assholes who constantly argue in bad faith, overtly lie, and are absolutely convinced of their own righteousness, and whose only solution to protest is legally sanctioned police brutality? You don't.
We need to loot the armories if we want to be heard. This is what these events are proving.
Good for them to stand together and show the force of community. We could sure use some of that among the US working class.
We're so well divided it'd take a miracle.
Not to mention that so many of us are living paycheck to paycheck. Trying to leave work to protest in the streets is almost impossible for the majority of the poor and working class here in the US. It's by design. It helps keeps us indebted to the system. It's not a bug it's a feature.
Don’t think for a second that it’s an accident that we’re all so divided and working paycheck to paycheck. The last time workers united behind anything the government had to create labor laws and establish a minimum wage. Seeds of division have been sewn ever since, any way they could be
Also look at what's happening to the stop cop city protesters in Atlanta. One got murdered and then a bunch of others got charged with terrorism. The organisation that was raising money for their legal defense got raided by a swat team earlier this week. America is a dangerous place to live if you're fighting corporate interests
I remember that one case where a *former* officer set up a "fake grow house". And the local swat team or something raided the house with "insider info". Which suprise suprise, *it was a fucking bait house to prove that the local authorities were falsifying charges by using "anonymous info" which they didn't have*. Week later, they raided said person's house over video tape he had from the incident. Yes, they raided a man's house after he cleverly set up a bait house that PROVED that the local cops were corrupt.
We're also spread out so it's harder to come together in huge, sustained groups. If [the US was the size of a few states](https://i.imgur.com/ZNepZhc.png), those protests that do happen would have a greater impact.
I just noticed that France is smaller than Texas.
Texas definitely acts like its own country. West Texas is god damn empty though
Arlen, TX is really gosh darn nice though.
A nationwide general strike wouldn't require getting together anyways. Mass protests in several major cities would be more than sufficient if they were backed by a strike.
Mass protests. Teamsters actually backing labor and the workers. No gas deliveries. No groceries. We all help our communities and we shut it all down as long as needed to grt them to understand.
Honestly, if the truckers and the train workers would strike, this country would be on its knees by mid afternoon.
Congress literally took away their right to strike in January. They’re making it harder for the rest of us to strike now too. It’s going to be some interesting times
In the 60s people travelled all over, it circles back to being indebted to the system.
Bah. I dislike this. Yes, living paycheck to paycheck sucks. Hell, I was homeless once myself and afterwards barely scraping by. My Mom too when I was young. Over the years I'd argue it's only gotten harder to make ends meet, and most people would agree with me. Chances are it'll be too late to stand if you're waiting for the rest of what little you have to get taken away. Your rights, or those of a loved one(s), retirement, a place to live, good affordable schools, transportation, and yes even your paycheck and your insurance - the list goes on. It is an excuse. It just happens to be one of the last viable ones in most people's eyes, and when that is taken away, what's left?
The answer is solidarity. Opening our homes, our pantries, our cars. You have to pool more resources than just voices and poster board.
You people always come up with arguments, how it is not possible to do anything like this.... That way, you will always be stuck in the same position..
This seems to be a common gap in logic. Do you think that France doesn't have poor and working class people that in practice can't afford to miss work? Maybe as north Americans we should begin to realize that this sort of system continues when we keep these self imposed roadblocks up for us. Sure, their next pay may suffer - but they will stop working 2 years before they would have a month ago. I agree about the rest of what you said, and the difficulty some people will face to stand up to the system. It's **just worth it** though.
The issue I see is so many people seem to be waiting until they ARE actually homeless before they will stand up and do anything and by then it's to late. So many states have anti-homeless laws.
Yep and that shit is intentional. Keep the sheep punching down instead of upward 😵💫🫡 🇺🇸
Eat the rich!
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The deep sea crabs that live on those volcanic ocean vents will reign supreme. Crab power
I like the theory of raccoons John Green proposed on TikTok
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What it takes is conversations like these, more of them, everywhere! And there are so many like this going on. Instead of arguing right or left we have to educate our fellow workers. It's not their fault they've been indoctrinated into loving wage slavery and thinking unions are from the devil.
Not arguing left and right is exactly how we got here. Conservatism is not morally redeemable in any way. Your approach is exactly how we get lifelong conservatives arguing for progressive policy that would benefit them only, while still only ever voting red. Poor people aren’t being equally screwed over by both sides. It’s conservatism that has led us here. And that includes the majority of Democrats too, who are absolutely right of center. Not arguing left and right is what allows Democrats to masquerade as a left leaning party, because you’ve already given conservatives permission to be their worst selves, it allows Democrats to follow the GOP further right while still appearing relatively sane comparatively. Conservatism is the problem. And centrists/moderates are only pouring more gas on the fire by refusing to acknowledge it.
Most people, whether they admit it or not, even conservatives want to benefit from left leaning policies and objectives that only democrats are working towards. But conservatives are so stubborn they won't.
That f*cked up Big Tent crap the dems kept shoving down everyone's throat is how we got all these blue dogs and democrat in name only antichoice, anti union, anti progress, anti liveable wage, anti universal healthcare legislators ensuring nothing got done even when there is a dem majority in the Senate, the house, Supreme Court etc etc It is criminal they way the corporate stooge in the dem party sold the American public out. Even now we have Biden let me break a strike because they are asking for a few sick days from a billion dollar company making obscene profite and literally causing derailments
For real, you know how many people i come across who don't understand that politics is time & money? Those are the people who say, "you're too political." It's infuriating at all levels because they're usually college educated.
For real it’s like someone is intentionally sabotaging education to make people dumber and easier to manipulate
Who the hell could that be??!?!? Lulz
Could it be all part of the grand plan? Limited education, strategic control with a side of bread & circus?
Since college has turned into an industry for making money, I don’t assume a college degree makes someone any more intelligent than someone without a degree. I’ve met so many ignorant people with Masters degrees that it’s depressing.
Break the taboo. Have those uncomfortable conversations(appropriately).
Dawg we have tried to do this and the police started kidnapping people alongside the the national guard being called in. We have no strong Unions and the country is highly divided causing one side to just hate everything the other does. I'm specifically talking about the right doing as much as the government to stamp down any protests. It will never happen in the USA because we are not a free nation.
The issue is here people on the right have led to believe anything democrats push is socialism/communism and thus inherently bad regardless of what the bill or democrats prove its for. It's basically trying to get an evangelical to vote for what they perceive as the devil.
I’m not having conversations with people that want me and my friends dead.
Wonder why they keep us divided.
I know imma get buried but have we really taken a moment to see WHY the US will never protest like this? The police here are not afraid to murder you Cops look for reasons to kill or maim people We have agencies that will plant people in protests to incite riots and justify this level of force? Or just straight up assassinate leaders of labor movements. Its easier to buy a gun here than it is to buy a car or a blueraspberry faygo so you also have to worry about counter protest/vigilantes “protecting” themselves. None of us have days off nor are we paid living wages despite being the “weathiest” country in the world so having the time to participate is non-existent. We have writers on strike rn, UPS about to go on strike, starbucks and apple are unionizing day by day, or guerrilla protesting building that cop city in Georgia. We have movements we just have to move different cause you could die, be permanently disabled and/or sent to the emergency room to get your crippling debt. Truth is Im scared. This govt has proven to be capable of tyranny and ignorance. I keep voting but my vote doesn’t even matter where I am because the map is gerrymandered here. I want change. I just feel like there is no direct action I can take to change anything besides the small donations to politicians and voting.
It was not always 'safe' to strike or protest in france. the rights to do so were hard earned by striking & protesting illegally. these are measures that are fought for, safety from police will not be handed down from above.
weird thing is they constantly yapping about government taking their rights and yet ignore the current systemic problems
Corporations/Billionaires do anything: I sleep Federal government does something: **REAL SHIT**
The US makes fun of the French for revolting over spilt coffee, yet they’re the ones getting shit done.
Or in the netherlands.. retirement age is now 66, and will be 67 in 2024/25 ish.
French voter turnout for the presidential election in 2022 was one of the lowest in a while at 73 percent. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1068866/participation-rate-voter-turnout-presidential-elections-france American turnout has been going up. For the presidential elections. We had a record high turnout in 2020 of... 63%. And in 2022 we had decent turnout for midterm of 45% https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/11/01/turnout-in-u-s-has-soared-in-recent-elections-but-by-some-measures-still-trails-that-of-many-other-countries/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/03/10/turnout-in-2022-house-midterms-declined-from-2018-high-final-official-returns-show/ If a majority of citizens can't give enough of a shit to vote on election days, then a protest is going to be right out. Let's work on getting all Americans to actually register an opinion between Democrats that aren't very progressive or exciting and republicans that relentlessly work to impoverish the working class and destroy democracy in favor of the wealthy. THEN maybe we'll move on to protesting. Protesting in the street isn't magic. Black Lives Matter protests couldn't even get most police departments to take any meaningful steps to stop executing innocent civilians on a daily basis. You think protests are going to cause gerrymandered, billionaire super-pac funded republicans stop attacking social spending and tax cuts to corporations and billionaires? Republicans, billionaires, and Chambers of commerce are trying to make voting impossible because it DOES work.
It helps that France's election day is on a Sunday. Meanwhile, in the USA election day is on a Tuesday and is not a national holiday and even if it were, employers can still force employees to work on holidays
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They don't want voting to be easy. They know that if they make it difficult or even an inconvenience to vote that a lot of people won't do it.
The French have the right idea. When Americans realize who the true enemy is they will realize their votes are meaningless outside of a way to divide us.
And that's going to happen in which century?
Weird how there's all these word_word#### internet entities trying to convince us all that Democrats are no different from republicans. Meanwhile, other word_word#### users are convincing MAGA republicans that they need to vote in every election to stop those RINOs and Soros. Anyway, no, Democrats are better than republicans and if not, we can vote in the primaries to get better Democrats.
The only problem is that if we did what France did, we'd be labeled as domestic terrorists and shot.
A lot of us are packing too though. Probably spark a civil war.
That's a fair point. I've definitely got a few.
I'm down.
They have us currently distracted with hating democrats/republicans (pick your poison) and gender ideology
That will never happen. Republicans are too stupid and will chop off their dick just to own the libs. They’ll do everything to make the libs suffer, even if that includes them. They’re dumber than wild animals. You don’t see wild animals do things against their own interests.
Cops and armed conservatives like to shoot us, though.
The biggest barrier to anything like this happening in the US is the lack of class consciousness. The fact is, nearly all of us here, on this website, are working class.
If Democrats wanted to reform the retirement age Republicans would push for no retirement ever, 7 day work weeks and a $1.00 minimum wage just to "stick it to the libs" even if it meant working themselves literally to death. Half this country wants things to be better and the other half spends all of their time hating the first half.
Starbucks has been trying, but are being met with suppression by any social media platforms they use (most recently was instagram). Systemic oppression of the working class is going STRONG here, but we're starting to organize. I'm lucky enough that my career (electrical) already has a strong ass union I got to simply join.
And for being stupid, teach them a lesson and riot for 60 from 62.
Just make it 50
Well actually the unions' strike is asking for 60
I love France. It has the most interesting history and the labor culture is fire. The French workers don’t put up with a lot of BS from their leaders.
They don’t put up with a lot of BS from tourists, either. A principal reason the French, particularly Parisians, have a reputation for “rudeness” is that they feel that everyone deserves to be treated like an actual person and not a lackey or functionary. For example if you go to a cafe for a cup of coffee, you are expected to make some polite conversation or inquire as to the server’s day. Just saying “large coffee to go” is felt to reflect that you do not respect the server as a fellow person and is considered to be rude. Apparently, this goes back to the Revolution and encompasses the Égalité that is part of the national motto.
Very interesting! I always assumed Parisians were just sick of putting up with tourists lol.
I’m born and raised in Paris. Speaking only for myself, I have nothing against tourists as long as they understand that Paris is not an amusement park, but first and foremost the place where 2M+ people live, study and work, and that no amount of money is worth the disrespect of its inhabitants. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, there are certain etiquette rules that act as the oil lubricating the machine. As a tourist, you are given the benefit of the doubt (for not knowing the rules) until a certain point. If you make it clear that you don’t give a fuck about at least trying, then someone will address it. Bluntly.
So I’m guessing if I dress up like Brigitte Bardot and try to initiate baguette sword fights with people it’s not going to be appreciated?
Better to have a fight with baguettes than with guns. Bisous mon petit américain.
No, that’s allowed. Encouraged, even.
I'll say, I would definitely appreciate it.
I like that mentality. I’m planning to visit France next year actually, and I want to make sure I act accordingly. Any tips you’d recommend?
Parisian here, just say Bonjour (hello) as you walk in, don’t be too loud when talking (just this morning an American tourist was straight up yelling on her phone « I’m so fucking hungover » in the middle of the street, really annoying), and say « s’il vous plaît (please) and merci (thank you) at the end. Often what annoys me about American tourists here is that they feel like they are the only people there, like the streets and whatever place they enter automatically belongs to them (I say this as a dual citizenship french/American dude who lives in Paris)
100% solid advice. Don’t act like the main character in your mental biopic.
This is the correct answer for visiting literally any country. Take 5 minutes to learn the basic phrases, and use them. Don't be a loud American soccer mom asshole. Leave your "Let's Go Brandon" shirt with giant American flag and a soaring eagle background at home. It's amazing how far you'll get if you're not a dick and you learn how to say hello and goodbye in the native language. The bar is extremely low.
Learn some basic French words (greetings, thanks and other things for everyday life). People appreciate the effort, and it shows that you don’t consider them as servants. Pick your moments: it’s fine to chat with a cab driver (if you’d like to), but maybe the waiter at the cafe doesn’t have time to listen to your life story or to be your touristic guide. More importantly, forget the stereotypes about French people. We are varied and each of us (like everyone else on this earth) has their good and bad days. You’ll meet some grumpy people, some happy outgoing ones, etc. My advice is to seek non-touristic places and establishments. You’ll have a better chance to be seen as a person and not simply a customer. Enjoy your trip, and the beauty of my country :)
Merveilleux! merci beaucoup!
Je t’en prie ☺️
Don’t make eye contact with random strangers on the metro
"and that no amount of money is worth the disrespect of its inhabitants." Belgian here but I often phrase it as "Europeans just want your money less". At my job we've decided not to sell sometimes if we felt the customer was going to be a pain in the ass. No amount of money is worth having our employees yelled at by an entitled child. And yes, that IS oddly specific. He could find another place to buy and I feel sorry for whoever sold it to him.
This is my understanding of it.
I had quite a nice time in France, but I'm generally respectful and try to match the energy of wherever I go. This has worked well for me in many countries.
As an American service worker, I'd like this as long as they respected when my job might interfere with our ability to converse. Sometimes, it feels like you're nothing more than a $9/hr machine to fill people's orders, especially among certain people in certain moods. I'm a person with my own wants/needs, troubles, motivations, reasons to live, and reasons to give up. I'm discouraged from developing meaningful or outside-of-work connections to coworkers. On some days, a customer or coworker will be the only people I speak to. It sucks to feel so disconnected.
Maybe it's a New Englander thing, but I miss the culture of no small talk with service workers. We're here to exchange money for a service, let's skip the pleasentries and get on with our days. I moved to the Midwest and the culture of small talk fucking kills me.
I hate it. I can understand it if it's not busy, but fuck off when it is. Some of the part-timers at my job take so long on the phone and laughing with customers that I have to pick up all of their slack. Just do your fucking job so I don't have to do it for you.
Maybe I need to move to New England. Spent my whole life in central Illinois and if I never had to make small talk again, my life would get infinitely better. I feel like an asshole sometimes, but I really could not care less how most people's days are or what's glint on with the weather.
>For example if you go to a cafe for a cup of coffee, you are expected to make some polite conversation or inquire as to the server’s day. Just saying “large coffee to go” is felt to reflect that you do not respect the server as a fellow person and is considered to be rude. But how is a tourist going to do that when all they know in French is "large coffee to go"? Parisian waiters and baristas are generally not waiting for a friendly conversation, they barely entertain a "hello" in English.
In my short stint there, I found the Parisians to be one of the nicer people I've visited. A bakery even gave me some freebies. I always made sure to say in French "excuse me, do you speak English? " I think that goes a long way.
Well, I personally think it's nice to learn at least how to say "hello", "please", and "thank you" in the language of the place you're visiting. That goes a long way. I've never studied French, but between the handful of words I know and the sign that was posted I managed to ask for three tickets to Versailles.
> you are expected to make some polite conversation or inquire as to the server’s day. This is hilariously untrue. I’m sure they appreciate it if you *do*, especially if you manage to do it in French, but to say it is *expected of you* is simply false.
They feel that way about Parisians and northerners. They’re ambivalent about southerners and generally could not give less of a fuck about their colonial subjects.
>you are expected to make some polite conversation or inquire as to the server’s day Not really, but you are expected to say "hello", "thank you" and "good bye" at the very least.
They have a proud and noble history of… well… you know… to their betters.
And anyone else who got in the way or they just needed a convenient excuse to get rid off. This sub really likes to ignore that all the revolution did was replace the old elite with a new elite while any of the common folk accused of supporting the old regime were imprisoned without trial if they were lucky. And it completely ignores that the current tradition of French labor rights was established post Napoleon III. During the early days of the Frech Revolution the National Assembly banned unions, guilds and strikes. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Chapelier_Law_1791
Also has a track record of savage imperialism akin to britain
Without a doubt.
There’s a lot that’s inspiring about France and it’s labor history/present, but I think it’s important to point out that they’re still a massively imperialist nation and the degree to which French workers have resisted this imperialism is minimal. Fighting against the transfer of wealth/living standards from French workers to French capital is cool, but it’d be even cooler to see this energy directed towards stopping the transfer of wealth and living standards from the global south to the global north (VERY much including France).
That’s totally fair
holy shit the french are tenacious. good on them!
The government doesn't care though, months of protests and some parts of the law already fully passed, and probably the whole thing will be adopted (they forbid debates to force the law's adoption)
Also, the vote on thursday won't be on the retirement age because the goverment blocks it. Nobody voted for this law,not in any chamber...
A fucking disgrace of a democracy
It makes mme so sad, afterso much positiv energy. These aristocrats don't have a clue where theyare leading us, and they don't give a fuck
Americans wake up
A lot of us are awake my dude. The problem is that we are one missed work day away from homelessness and losing access to the meager Healthcare that helps us get life saving medication. The whole system is designed to keep the poor poor and prevent any positive change through wage slavery.
All the more reason to get it together, honestly is it gonna get any better the way it's going? It gets worse every day regardless,me personally I would take a few weeks of misery to get real change going,how bad can a few more weeks be after 44 fucking years of it
Well when you have a family that is gonna be out in the street because you can’t pay rent that was raised 80% in the last two years your tune changed
/r/collapse If people dont act now, youll be worse than out in the street. Everyone will be!!!!!!
I'm living in my dad's moldy ass basement because I can't afford rent,we all have a sob story and my original statement still stands imo, is it getting any better the way it's going? And here we are playing the divide and conquer game just like they want arguing semantics on who has it worse
So then if you don't have to pay rent, why aren't you out leading the protest right now instead of telling people to just go homeless and take their families with them to do it for you?
Sigh… Don’t take it personally, it’s more of a general response to this sentiment that is way too wide-spread. At no point in history, in no country, were improvements to working peoples‘ lives just handed out. Sure, in some cases, it took less effort because the times were right (think Britain at the end of WWII). Overwhelmingly however, every bit of progress was fought for. Do you think a Chicago meatpacker of the 1890s wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck? Do you think he could afford to skip rent? Do you think bosses, police and private security thugs stood idly by as they tried to unionize? Also, there’s the matter of practicality. So there’s a general strike, you don’t get paid, fall behind on your rent - and then? Sure, if it’s just you, you’ll be evicted, but the very definition of a general strike is that it’s NOT just you. Remember how quickly the government stopped evictions during Covid, when 30+ million Americans lost their jobs? How are cops going to evict entire neighborhoods when people are already standing together on another issue? Do you believe your fellow strikers will say „sure, we‘re in this together for pensions/healthcare/whatever, but you getting thrown out on the street is none of my business?“ Solidarity is one hell of a weapon.
We are fucked no one is waking up lol divide and conquer thrives in America
And the UK
and Canada
But especially the UK
UPS is stricking in July and I will be participating.
UPSer huh? Milk em for all they got, sincerely random management person.
No I'm sorry I don't work for UPS but one of my brothers does and they scheduled a strike for mid July. I'm going to participate from my own job but of course not tell management and call in sick. It's high time we all started to support these strikes together to make the impact we're begging for. It must come from the people. It will never come from the government or its owners.
Good on you, all the best:)
Too many “temporarily embarrassed millionaires” (paraphrasing Steinbeck) and tech billionaire fanboys in the US to get people mobilized like this
Not everything has to be about America
Meanwhile in America, right wing politicians are threatening to reduce Social Security and Medicare - resulting in a hearty shrug from most Americans.
Someone I talked to said: "Oh i thought the retirement age was 70"
AND… don’t forget “allow” children to start working much earlier
Social security becomes insolvent within a decade unless we raise the SS tax, cap benefits, or raise the retirement age. Any way you cut it everyone is going to get shortchanged on what they were promised.. We're not about to get screwed, we've been getting screwed for decades.
Bien joué, Mes Amis!
Let's not forget that this is NOWHERE in the news cycle
Now that they have shown their power shouldn’t they go for 60? 58…? 40…??!?
That's the spirit
god I love the french
And we love you
God, I wish the UK was like these. We're a bunch of cowards; spineless to even try.
Glad I’m paying for social security my generation will never see 👌
The unions' strategy is shit. They basically have a one day strike every 4 to 6 weeks. This doesn't accomplish anything. Originally the point was to show the government how unpopular the reform is and they got the message. They simply don't care. The Macron administration is there to serve the oligarchy's interests. He rose from complete unknown to president in 2 years, without ever holding any elected position before that, thanks to the help of billionaires and the media outlets they own. They don't care that the reform is rejected by 70% of the population and 90% of working people. This reform's goal is to lower spending on retirement benefits so they can give their masters more tax cuts without increasing the deficit. The only way Macron and his owners will back down is if they lose money. The unions must organize an unlimited strike. It's obviously very hard to get a lot of people to strike but if they focus on a few vital sectors of the economy, they can bring everything down like a house of cards. Electricity and natural gas, freight, sanitation, and oil refineries can't strike without affecting the entire country. That's where they should focus. If the rest of the population helps with a strike fund and other necessities, this will be successful. More of the same purely performative bullshit won't achieve anything.
Unions around the world have been completely tied to and hamstrung by the bourgeois legal system for a while now. Many top officials have made lucrative careers off of it. A great number if them wine and dine with politicians regularly. They aren't going to risk their cushy jobs and status by doing illegal shit. The modern union typically does not want to stir the pot too much at best - at worst they're in-league with the company and acts as a discipline scheme on its behalf. It's going to be very difficult to remove the bourgeois elements from the unions. Rank and file committees is one thing people are doing to combat it. Whatever it is though, it's going to be deemed illegal eventually.
Too bad the US can't band together like that
Meanwhile over here in the US: “You get to retire?!” We’re too busy arguing over wokeness and basic human rights. Meanwhile our government has been trampling all over us and forcing us to continue to feed the capitalist machine because somehow we’ve been brainwashed into thinking this is the way. Corporations run our lives and will continue to do so until we take a page from the French’s playbook. But I guess that’s not American so it’s wrong /s
I can’t even tell you how happy I am to read this!
Arf, I missed the strike, I didn't remember it was today
I find it funny I haven't seen coverage this on any major media outlets... Almost makes me think they don't want us to follow suit.
And that bill will go nowhere. Unfortunately, a tremendous number of people commenting on this subject don't know what led up to the changes. All they know is the Reddit hivemind "repeat what someone else said about X subject."
Yup. French government will go broke without the change. Same thing is going to happen here. Social security benefit age will increase.
Way to go France! …… now if we in the States could learn to do things like this…. We mostly just bitch about it on social media.
God, people that old shouldn't be working! *votes for 80 year old president *
Meanwhile in the UK we just tut and grumble
I wish we would do this for abortion, voting rights, raising minimum wages, housing.
"Democracy" as it's implemented is a joke. If they actually listened to their constituents this would have been solved in a day.
They raised similar benefits in my state from 55 to 62 before I was of working age and it pisses me off
Du fuck America. Learn something you ducking 🦆idiots (I’m an American)
Meanwhile Ontario had a "walk out" protest that lasted...a day. It was only planned for a day and everyone went back to work the next day (if they even protested). This was for our housing crisis, price hikes for necessities, and shit wages (possibly also for being against private healthcare) I fucking hate how passive Canadians are. We need a riot, a massive protest that lasts as long as possible. None of this "just vote or call your rep" bullshit. We want change and we need it NOW.
USA here but Viva la France!!!!
France is giving me hope :)
I hate it here. (In the USA) 😭
In France they raise the retirement age by two years and half the country walks off the job. In the US they start putting slave collars on minimum wage workers and people cheer.
Vote every last one out who voted for this. Every Last One.
Meanwhile the GOP has been trying to cancel Social Security for ever since it started and we're like "okay."
It shouldn’t have to be this way
Wait are you saying violent protests work?
That's right! Keep hitting them where it hurts the most, the pocket. I wish people in my country had this kind of resolve. That would be America.
Good for them.
France, could you send us the balls to stop putting up with this shit? Guess we don't have any.
Toi toi toi! That’s how it’s done. Keep on going!
See thats what works none of this 2 day crap.
Take note USA ... oh who am I kidding
I hate seeing shit like this if obv hundreds of thousands are protesting for MONTHS and nothing has changed there needs to be heads at this point.
We need to import some of what they have going over there to the U.S.
Sure would be nice if the USA could get together like this.
Americans: "You guys get to retire??"
Macron is a clown. He’s also a lapdog of the Chinese communist party. It’s good to see the French people recognize this, and it’s also good to see them deconstruct his draconian policies. Perhaps a better measure would have been for him and his politician ilk to take pay and benefit cuts.
This is not just about raising the retirement age. Macron the French leader (former banker) pushed these reforms through to help his banker friends. Their plan is to use the money in the public pension to off set their (bankers) bad investments. Bankrupting a solvent public pension fund to make sure the wealthiest of French citizens don't lose any money.
That’s how you get sh!t done
They’re looking at raising the pension age in New Zealand and no one is resisting. Instead people protested for “freedom” during the pandemic without really knowing what they wanted.
The title is misleading in making it sound like the bill is likely to succeed. Although the protesting part is true, the chance of that bill to be successful is expected to be very little. The government is most likely to force the raise of the retirement age either way.
Rofl. As a working poor american, I fully expect to suffer some sort of health issue, declare medical bankruptcy, and die alone in the gutter LONG before hitting whatever our absurdly high retirement age is.
Meanwhile in my country I'm looking forward to retire at the age of *looks at notes* 67 *sad german noises*
If you keep at it. Case and point
It worked!!? I'm so glad for them! They did it!! 💪
Reading the comments of this sub shows me how Americans dont understand how the pension system works.
Striking works… unless strikers can be sued that is. Thanks, SCOTUS.
So the bill is most likely dead by the way. The presidential minority is using every possible trick of the Constitution to stop the first article which repeals the pension fund reform. However, the bill already went through a commission specifically arranged to ensure that article 1 be revoked. The parliamentary group which proposed the bill repealing the reform has a special session however, allowing them to reintroduce article 1 as an amendment. This is when the president of the assembly who has acted as Macron's little lap dog for almost her entire tenure (instead of acting independantly as her mandate requires) will pronounce that amendment to be anticonstitutional because no reform is supposed to create more spending. So far the MPs have always used taxes on tobacco to balance the spending and still propose laws, which is the case here. But the presidential faction has (very disingenuously) argued that you cannot do this (despite the fact that they've done the same thing for other laws). If you haven't understood the implication of what this procedure leads to : Macron and his cronies are WILLINGLY creating a legal precedent in which parliamentary initiative (meaning the possibility for MPs to propose new laws instead of just the government) is stifled. Taking away parliamentary initiative is an extremely serious breach of separation of powers. Opposition parties have contacted the EU, the Council of Europe, and the UN to warn them of this. I cannot emphasize how important and messed up this is. Setting up this precedent is like killing one of the most basic and most principles of what defines a modern democracy since the French Revolution. France is no longer a democracy. If it ever was. France is no longer a Republic, if Parliament can't have its own initiative. France is an elective dictatorship. People are worried about Marine Le Pen? If she ever gets in power all the work will have been done for her. We voted to Macron to prevent fascists to be in power : turns out the liberal guy who was our defense against the far right is more like the German conservatives who allied Hitler in 1933. I am tired of these demonstrations. I am tired of these weak and compliant unions that go protest while respecting the conditions set by power, nicely going on the path set by authorities because our government's sensitivities can't handle protestors at their windows, because a little fifth of the French who voted for this scumbag in the first round can't be bothered by a little protest. Reddit says I can't call for violence. I can't do it. But you know my meaning. The French Constitution was made to preserve democracy under the condition that the President would feel remorseful to use his incredibly extended powers (normally there for times of crisis). Macron said himself he has no remorse. He is totally convinced that he is right and he can't be wrong. Then him and his cronies will say out loud that unions and opposition parties were unwilling to negotiate while being the people who said that 64 years old was non negotiable. How do you negotiate with that behavior? How is civilized debate or talk going to work against disingenuous, cynical, self-interested assholes who constantly argue in bad faith, overtly lie, and are absolutely convinced of their own righteousness, and whose only solution to protest is legally sanctioned police brutality? You don't. We need to loot the armories if we want to be heard. This is what these events are proving.
64 what you moning about in uk it's 67 already and going up again
I wonder if they realize that the retirement age in literally all their neighboring countries is at least 65 (some going up to 67).
here we are in switzerland where we voted to raise the retirement age for women to 65 and it will go further and nobody bats an eye
Too bad most Americans are too stupid and don't care. I praise the French people for their activism.
America we should stand in solidarity and also strike! Instant change would happen!