Protest | Increase in the minimum wage in France thanks to protests

Jean-Luc Mélenchon (center), candidate of the radical left-wing party “La France Insoumise” (LFI) in the 2027 French presidential elections, presented his government program “L’ Avenir en Commun” (A Common Future) at the weekend. Photo: AFP/Kenzo Tribouillard At a "social conference" to which Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu invited the unions and business associations at short notice on Monday, the head of government announced an increase in the statutory minimum wage SMIC by 1.6 percent for December 1st. This will then be over 1500 euros net for the first time. In addition, the tax exemption limit for overtime will be raised to 10,000 euros. The unions see these measures as a “positive beginning” that must be followed by further steps.

The general secretary of the CGT union, Sophie Binet, called the announced improvements "crumbs" and immediately after leaving the Prime Minister's official residence called for another nationwide day of strikes and demonstrations on November 17th. "As long as wages are not increased overall to take account of the rising cost of living, we will continue to mobilize workers," she emphasized. Negotiations between unions and entrepreneurs must now begin immediately in all sectors, "which must result in real wage increases."

At the most recent day of action, which the unions held together with high school and college students last Saturday, a total of 250,000 people took part in 140 demonstrations across the country, according to the unions, with 75,000 taking part in Paris alone. The Interior Ministry estimated there were 146,000 demonstrators across the country and 46,000 in Paris. This means that the number of participants is understandably declining slightly week after week, but the pressure on the government continues and is now showing the first results.

Saturday, November 7th, was also the day on which the spontaneous yellow vest protest movement, which emerged in 2018 and has since disappeared from the political arena, announced a comeback in the form of a major rally on Concorde Square in Paris. The movement now has a coordination office with nine speakers, of whom Benjamin Ball and Azelma Sigaux were arrested by the police on the edge of Concorde Square on Saturday afternoon. They had tried to report the meeting to the police days before, but were turned away. Nevertheless, they wanted to hold on to it. But at the agreed time on Saturday at 2 p.m., only a few demonstrators were able to make it to Concorde Square, where each of them received a fine of 135 euros. The large mass was intercepted by the police long beforehand. This means that the yellow vests' comeback has failed for the time being.

“Everything has to change.”

While demonstrations were taking place in Paris and many other cities in the country, the founder of the left-wing movement La France insoumise (LFI), Jean-Luc Mélenchon, announced his program for the 2027 presidential election at a meeting in the Paris suburb of Le Bourget, for which he is running for the fourth time for LFI - and, according to his conviction, for all left-wing French people.

At the start, he welcomed a group of four CP MPs led by their parliamentary group leader Stéphane Peu, who had decided the day before to support Mélenchon in the election campaign and therefore not their own candidate, the CP national secretary Fabien Roussel. Together with five MEPs from the French overseas territories who are also part of the group, the number of MEPs who have taken this step amounts to nine, making them the majority of the 17-member group.

In his hour-long speech to more than 20,000 LFI members and supporters, Mélenchon denounced the assassination attempt two weeks ago in the Paris suburb of Trappes by a 39-year-old right-wing extremist who specifically targeted Africans and Arabs as victims, killed a young man and critically injured four people, including a twelve-year-old girl. Mélenchon is convinced that both racism and the “neoliberal neglect of the population” threaten the cohesion of the nation.

“Everything has to change,” Mélenchon exclaimed. He spoke out in favor of declaring a “social emergency” and called for a “France in turmoil.” He was not least referring to the student protests that have been going on for weeks, which are increasingly being supported by the unions and which, in addition to the state of emergency in schools, also include demands against the rising cost of living and for the preservation of the public sector.

Mélenchon called for the introduction of the right to vote from the age of 16 in order to give young people more say in shaping their own future, and the creation of a "new ecological state" that should be based on planning and aligned with the imperatives of environmental, species and climate protection.

According to his ideas, this restructuring of the state should result in the establishment of a VI. Republic, which stands for “permanent popular sovereignty”. This particularly includes the possibility of recalling elected representatives. The VI. Republic would replace the current Fifth Republic, which Mélenchon criticizes as being too focused on the presidency. The sovereignist project of the VI. Republic also plans to break away from certain EU budget rules.

On the subject of foreign policy, Mélenchon called for France to take disarmament initiatives and go ahead of other countries. The war in the Gaza Strip and the violent Israeli settlement of the West Bank continue to be of central importance to La France insoumise. Mélenchon assured that he would continue to work “with all determination” for the Palestinians in the future.

Mélenchon, however, took a different tone on the subject of Ukraine. He did not condemn the Russian invasion, only declaring that "France, which has been invaded by its neighbor four times in its history," should not allow "anyone to invade anyone to solve political problems." In this context, Mélenchon did not rule out referendums in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions. "The people must decide," he declared and continued: "We do not accept that peace with territorial concessions in Ukraine can be considered without asking the affected population whether they agree to live on this side of the border or on the other side."

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