Wednesday 15 March was a historic day of strikes in both the United Kingdom and France. For France it was the eighth day of protests against reforms that would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Although the movement is losing traction, the protests are large even by French standards and are the biggest since 1995. And in yet perhaps the most dramatic twist of two months of unrest, on Thursday 16 March, Emmanuel Macron’s government resorted to passing the reform without a vote – a procedure enabled by article 49, paragraph 3 of the French constitution, often referred to as “49.3”. MPs opposed to the move have until Friday afternoon to submit no-confidence votes.
In the UK, a series of ongoing disputes on pay across a number of sectors including local government, education and railways culminated in strikes coordinated to coincide with the spring budget announcement on 15 March. The scale of the industrial action makes the British strikes historic, particularly when taking account of the highly restrictive legal framework.
How do the two countries’ movements measure up against each other? What are the “sticking points” that bring workers out on strike in both countries, and how are their governments reacting?
