France: Environmental organizations support strikes against pension age increase

The declaration among others of alternatiba, Greenpeace France, Friends of the Earth France, 350.org France, Attack France and many personalities has been on USAinformations published.

Translation: Martin Auer

Pension reform: "For the climate, the main thing is to reduce our working hours," say environmental NGOs

In a published on franceinfo Opinions call the main environmental organizations and Pcelebrities like activist Camille Etienne at demonstrations against pension reform, which they see as harmful to the fight against global warming - with video.

They denounce the reform as dangerous for combating global warming. In this statement, published by franceinfo.fr, environmental NGOs make the link between their daily struggle and the pension reform proposed by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron: "Working more means producing more, extracting more, polluting more," they denounce. They also believe the government has the wrong priority: "The report of the Pensions Council (Conseil d'orientation des retraites - COR) does not see the risk of an uninhabitable world in 2050. The report of the International Climate Council (IPCC) does."
You are free to express yourself here:

We are scientists, artists, activists and ordinary citizens and for years we have been warning of the threats to the habitability of our planet. Used to climate marches, non-violent actions of civil disobedience or public relations, we are also concerned with the mobilization against the current pension reform.

This reform contradicts all current requirements. On the one hand, it will deepen already existing inequalities in the world of work, given the massive inflation and the energy crisis, which are causing serious financial difficulties for French men and women, especially those in the most vulnerable situations. On the other hand, while the climate challenge is one of the absolute priorities, this reform will only make the situation worse.

Working more means producing more, extracting more, polluting more. Built on an insatiable productivist economic model, pension reform goes against real urgencies by destroying climate and biodiversity.

At a time when we are rethinking our relationship to work and the world, government remains stuck in an old-world model.

The priority can no longer be increasing production in order to achieve arbitrary goals of economic growth; Our society must be resolutely focused on the well-being of the people that make it up and on environmental sustainability. Instead of more and more exploitation of people and natural resources and more and more profit for a handful of billionaires, we must strive for the overall reduction in working hours and question the meaning of work in order to respond to social and environmental needs to work better and less.

The government is sabotaging the implementation of an ambitious climate policy by making a mockery of the Paris international climate agreement. For them, there is an urgent need to reform pensions, while the Pensions Orientation Council tells us the system is not in jeopardy. Conversely, scientists at the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have been warning of the dangers of climate change for decades without the government appearing to be taking any action, to the point that year after year since 2018 the French Climate Council has castigated the inadequacy of implemented public policies. Worse, the government is exploiting the focus on the pension system to pass repressive laws against civil society actors, like the Kasbarian-Bergé law dubbed “anti-squat” or the law criminalizing trespassing in sports venues under the pretext of Security for the 2024 Olympic Games. The government does not understand the urgencies and is exacerbating the crises.

The report of the Pensions Board does not see the danger of an uninhabitable world in 2050. The report of the International Climate Council does.

Attacking the pay-as-you-go system means pursuing a regressive climate policy. With the reform, uncertain futures in old age and the level of old-age pensions will encourage those who can afford to accumulate additional savings in the private sector, with wealth managers. These savings are therefore managed by insurers and banks, which mainly finance fossil fuels, thereby accelerating climate change.

That is why we, along with the majority of the population, are against this pension reform. It is part of a logic that exhausts people and the planet by targeting the unsustainable goals of infinite growth in a finite world.

The direction of progress, especially in its social dimension, must lead us towards a just, balanced society and enable us to live better, have time for ourselves, choose what we produce and how we produce it. Man becomes an obstacle to liberal capitalism, which favors machines that don't strike, don't stop working and don't retire!

If the government and parliamentarians remain deaf to the popular protests, the unions are calling for the social movement to be stepped up and France to be brought to a standstill in all sectors. We all have good reasons to join this call and fight to build together a desirable future on a viable planet. Across France we will be millions again to join the mobilization to stop this pension reform.

Signatories:

Lucie Chhieng – Spokesperson for AlternatibaParis
Elodie Nace – spokeswoman for Alternatiba Paris
Charlesde Lacombe – Speaker Alternatiba ANV Rhône
Tatiana Guille - Spokesperson Alternatiba ANV Rhône
Jean-François Julliard – Managing Director of Greenpeace France
Khaled Gaiji -President of Friends of the Earth France
Clémence Dubois- Campaign Manager 350.org France
Camille Etienne - climate activist
Vincent Gay - sociologist
Xavier Capet -Oceanographer
Agnès Ducharne – climate researcher
Maxime Combes- Economist
Renaud Becot - historian
Geneviève Pruvost – Director of Research at the CNRS

Alice Picard - Co-spokesperson for Attac France
Corinne Bascove – Alternatiba ANVMentpellier
Christophe Oudelin - Alternatiba Marseille
RazmigKeucheyan, Sociologist, Paris Cité University
Anne Le Corre - spokeswoman for the ecological spring
Delphine Moussard - Lecturer at the University of Aix-Marseille
Anahita Grisoni -Sociologist - Urban Planner Associate Researcher UMR 5600
JeanneGuien - Independent Researcher
Alexis Tantet -Ecopolian member
Anne Marchand - Co-Director GISCOP93 (Scientific Advocacy Group on Work-Related Cancer)
Etienne Pauthenet - National Research Institute Research Institute for Development - Laboratory for Physical and Spatial Oceanography
Stéphanie Boniface -IPSL Project Manager for Carbon Assessment, CNRS
Clément Soufflet – Postdoctoral Laboratory for Atmosphere and Cyclones
Josyane Ronchail - Researcher Locean - IPSL
Robin Rolland - LOCEAN PhD student - Sorbonne University
Louis Rouyer- PhD student at the Sorbonne University
COLIN Marie - Administrator United for Climate and Biodiversity
RémiLaxenaire – Contract Researcher University of Réunion
RenaudMetereau - teacher-researcher, economist at ParisCité University
Adrien Marie – Spokesperson for Nonviolent Action COP21
Margot Fontaneau - spokeswoman for Alternatiba
Janine Vincent – ​​Alternatiba Annonay
Morgane Carrier – MemberAlternatiba ANV Toulouse
Tom Baumert – Member of AlternatibaStrasbourg
Adrienne Pernot du Breuil – Volunteer member of Alternatiba/ANV 63
Manuel Mercier - AMU researcher
Vincent Lamy – ANV-COP21 Toulouse
Pierre Guillon - Member of AtecopolAix-Marseille
Pablo Flye - Voice of Fridays For FutureFrance
Louise ULRICH – Board Member Fridays for FutureFrance
Robin Plauchu - LSCE laboratory
Pierre-Luc Bardet - Lecturer and researcher at the Sorbonne University
SébastienLEBONNOIS – Researcher
Laurent Fairhead - Researcher
CarolePhilippon - Researcher
Myriam Quatrini – Researcher