A strike began on 5 December 2019 to protest against broad changes to France's pension system proposed by President Emmanuel Macron.
In July 2019, he delivered a report of his recommendations, outlining the basics of a bill to be proposed to the National Assembly for pension reform.
He resigned on 16 December after the press revealed he forgot to disclose 13 volunteer activities including a remunerated one for the French Federation of Insurances.
[7] Jean-Paul Delevoye was replaced by Laurent Pietraszewski, former employee of the French multinational retail group Auchan.
[9] The strikes, led in part by the CGT but also by the UNSA, the FSU and Solidaires unions, began prior to the disclosure of the details of President Emmanuel Macron's plan to merge France's current 42 different pension schemes into one state-managed system.
Unions say introducing a single system will mean millions of workers will end up working beyond the legal retirement age of 62 or receiving a far lower pension.
[25] To protest against the loss of their special regime, ballerinas from the Paris Opera performed Swan Lake in frontcourt of Palais Garnier on 23 December.
[26] Union workers from the electricity company EDF conducted operations to cut power of symbolic companies such as Amazon or deputies from Emmanuel Macron's party LREM,[27] while also performing "Robin Hood" operations to put electricity back on to homes unable to pay their bills.
[citation needed] In Caen, on 8 January 2020, dozens of lawyers threw their robes in front of the ministry of justice Nicole Belloubet as a sign of protest.
[34] The promotion of the head of BlackRock's French branch, Jean-Francois Cirelli, to rank of officer of the Légion d'honneur also contributed to highlight this proximity.
[35] French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the nationwide strikes would not weaken his resolve to reform the pension system.
According to the conservative newspaper Le Figaro, on 19 December 55% of French people found the movement against the pension reform justified.