There have been violent protests against Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform for weeks. France expert Johannes Maria Becker is not at all surprised.
Cologne – France does not come to rest: On Tuesday, the unions protested against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms with new strikes. The authorities expected up to 600,000 people to attend strikes and demonstrations in various cities. The controversial reform to gradually raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 has now been passed and is expected to take effect in September.
While there are regular outbreaks of violence in France, strikes in Germany are peaceful, as the comparatively silent collective bargaining agreement in the public sector recently showed. Figures show that the clocks tick differently in France: On average, 1,000 French employees go on strike for a total of 123 days a year. In Germany it is only seven days. That was the finding of the German Economic Institute (IW) in Cologne in a study for the years 2007 to 2016. After France come Denmark (118 days), Canada (87 days) and Belgium (79). Also few strikes in the USA (six days). In Japan, there are almost no work stoppages (0.2 days).
Strikes in France: Radical unions determine the course
There are two explanations for the French desire to go on strike, said Johannes Maria Becker in an interview IPPEN.MEDIA a few weeks ago. The political scientist helped set up the Center for Conflict Research at the University of Marburg. France is at the center of his research. Becker lived in Paris for three years.
The institutional explanation goes like this: “The trade unions act much more radically than in Germany,” said Becker. “There are political directional unions there, for example a social-democratically oriented, a communist-oriented and even a sometimes Trotskyist, Maoist union.”
There are also cultural differences between Germany and France, which are also reflected in the behavior on strikes. Becker: “In addition to cultivating the victorious revolutions, the French people have a collective awareness of injustice. Something goes wrong? Then you tend to hold the central government responsible and take to the streets – everyone, not just those who are directly affected. Germans tend to blame themselves, they don’t question the macro structures.”
Different right to strike in Germany and France
This different perception has grown historically. In France, the right to strike was introduced first, followed by the trade unions. Protesting comes before negotiating – this has a long tradition in France. Since the end of the Second World War, the right to strike has even been included in the preamble to the constitution. In principle, anyone in France can go on strike – including civil servants. In Germany, civil servants are not allowed this right.
The definition of a strike also differs. In France, if at least two workers stop working, it is considered a strike. It’s not that easy in Germany. Here, only unions are allowed to call for strikes. In both countries, however, the following applies: strikes are only permissible if demands are dealt with that can be regulated within the framework of the collective agreement. For example, it must be about salary, working conditions or protection against dismissal.
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