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| Amid Chaos of Daily Commutes, Strikers and Macron Compete for the Commuters | Amid Chaos of Daily Commutes, Strikers and Macron Compete for the Commuters |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| PARIS — It was 5:50 in the afternoon in the Charles de Gaulle station on the RER A, the train that penetrates the suburbs of Paris. The crowd was already five deep. Only a narrow passageway remained on the platform. | |
| “Yeah, yeah, they’re coming very slowly,” a woman murmured into her cellphone. A train finally entered. The faces were grim, anxious or resigned. The crowd surged forward but hope quickly dissipated: The train was already full. | “Yeah, yeah, they’re coming very slowly,” a woman murmured into her cellphone. A train finally entered. The faces were grim, anxious or resigned. The crowd surged forward but hope quickly dissipated: The train was already full. |
| Only the lucky few at the front squeezed in. The luck was relative. A passenger looked heavenward as the doors closed tightly on her, her face squeezed against the glass. There wasn’t an inch to spare. | Only the lucky few at the front squeezed in. The luck was relative. A passenger looked heavenward as the doors closed tightly on her, her face squeezed against the glass. There wasn’t an inch to spare. |
| Thirteen days into the strike that has upended life in France, this was rush hour in the heart of Paris: few trains and too many passengers. Commuters awake early, return late, walk for miles to their jobs, get stuck in monstrous traffic jams that have turned Paris streets into impenetrable traps, or bicycle to work in bike lanes that are now anarchic free-for-alls. Bike and scooter accidents are up 40 percent since the start of the strike. | Thirteen days into the strike that has upended life in France, this was rush hour in the heart of Paris: few trains and too many passengers. Commuters awake early, return late, walk for miles to their jobs, get stuck in monstrous traffic jams that have turned Paris streets into impenetrable traps, or bicycle to work in bike lanes that are now anarchic free-for-alls. Bike and scooter accidents are up 40 percent since the start of the strike. |
| “This is just abusive,” said Jennifer Salles, 23, who had been waiting 25 minutes for her chance at a train on the RER A platform. “I understand their demands, but this is all a big pain for us,” said Ms. Salles, a trainee in a corporate-nursery program. “I think most people are fed up.” | “This is just abusive,” said Jennifer Salles, 23, who had been waiting 25 minutes for her chance at a train on the RER A platform. “I understand their demands, but this is all a big pain for us,” said Ms. Salles, a trainee in a corporate-nursery program. “I think most people are fed up.” |
| Just how fed up is the question before France. The crowds, the delays, the interminable gridlock are more than an inconvenience. They are part of a tug of war for public support between the strikers who want to preserve the most sacred French benefit of all — a cozy but complex pension system — and a government determined to overhaul it. | Just how fed up is the question before France. The crowds, the delays, the interminable gridlock are more than an inconvenience. They are part of a tug of war for public support between the strikers who want to preserve the most sacred French benefit of all — a cozy but complex pension system — and a government determined to overhaul it. |
| Caught in the middle are France’s frazzled commuters, whose endurance — the strength of their fraying nerves — may ultimately determine who wins. | Caught in the middle are France’s frazzled commuters, whose endurance — the strength of their fraying nerves — may ultimately determine who wins. |
| The government is banking that anger at the strikers for making life miserable will tip the scales of public opinion in its favor. So far that is not happening. | The government is banking that anger at the strikers for making life miserable will tip the scales of public opinion in its favor. So far that is not happening. |
| Public support for the strike runs at 62 percent in a poll published Tuesday by Harris Interactive, a number that increased since the beginning of the protests. | Public support for the strike runs at 62 percent in a poll published Tuesday by Harris Interactive, a number that increased since the beginning of the protests. |
| With some 615,000 in the streets across France on Tuesday, according to the government, it was the biggest demonstration since the first nationwide protest on Dec. 5. | With some 615,000 in the streets across France on Tuesday, according to the government, it was the biggest demonstration since the first nationwide protest on Dec. 5. |
| The continuing strength of the mobilization was not good news for the government of President Emmanuel Macron. And precedent doesn’t favor the government either — in 1995, reforms were withdrawn after three weeks of publicly supported strikes. | The continuing strength of the mobilization was not good news for the government of President Emmanuel Macron. And precedent doesn’t favor the government either — in 1995, reforms were withdrawn after three weeks of publicly supported strikes. |
| Yet for now, no end is in sight. Most unions have brushed aside pleas for a Christmas “truce,” and the government signaled on Tuesday that it had no intention of backing down. | Yet for now, no end is in sight. Most unions have brushed aside pleas for a Christmas “truce,” and the government signaled on Tuesday that it had no intention of backing down. |
| “On this project my determination is total,” Prime Minister Édouard Philippe told the French Parliament on Tuesday. “I say it calmly: It is total.” | “On this project my determination is total,” Prime Minister Édouard Philippe told the French Parliament on Tuesday. “I say it calmly: It is total.” |
| With the ratio of active workers to retirees at only 1.7 to 1, compared to 4 to 1 in 1960, the current system is simply unaffordable, the government says. | With the ratio of active workers to retirees at only 1.7 to 1, compared to 4 to 1 in 1960, the current system is simply unaffordable, the government says. |
| The 70-year-old pensions system, officials say, is heading for big deficits and is unfair to some, and too fair to others. | The 70-year-old pensions system, officials say, is heading for big deficits and is unfair to some, and too fair to others. |
| It features official retirement at 62, and 52 for train drivers, pensions based on the best 25 years in the private sector and the last six months of salary in the public. | It features official retirement at 62, and 52 for train drivers, pensions based on the best 25 years in the private sector and the last six months of salary in the public. |
| The government wants to combine France’s current byzantine system, in which many professions have their own retirement schemes, into one state-managed plan, and to nudge the retirement age up by two years. The special pension regimes had to go, Mr. Philippe said. | The government wants to combine France’s current byzantine system, in which many professions have their own retirement schemes, into one state-managed plan, and to nudge the retirement age up by two years. The special pension regimes had to go, Mr. Philippe said. |
| But the numbers and the warnings don’t mean much to a public used to the state’s generosity, even as the impact of the strikes mounts. | But the numbers and the warnings don’t mean much to a public used to the state’s generosity, even as the impact of the strikes mounts. |
| In central Paris, business in shops and restaurants has fallen over 40 percent. “Business is down. There are fewer customers, even tourists,” said Guénolé Aubert, who runs a pharmacy at the Place de Clichy, normally one of the busiest spots in Paris. | In central Paris, business in shops and restaurants has fallen over 40 percent. “Business is down. There are fewer customers, even tourists,” said Guénolé Aubert, who runs a pharmacy at the Place de Clichy, normally one of the busiest spots in Paris. |
| But while the shopping crowds were thin, elsewhere in the city on Tuesday the streets were thick with demonstrators from every profession and activity: employees at the Louvre, sewer workers, train drivers, lawyers, students, teachers, judges, doctors, nurses, and prison guards. | But while the shopping crowds were thin, elsewhere in the city on Tuesday the streets were thick with demonstrators from every profession and activity: employees at the Louvre, sewer workers, train drivers, lawyers, students, teachers, judges, doctors, nurses, and prison guards. |
| “Musicians and dancers with the workers,” read one banner; “Girls just wanna have a good salary, a good career, a good retirement,” read another. “Make Our Retirements Great Again,” read a third. | “Musicians and dancers with the workers,” read one banner; “Girls just wanna have a good salary, a good career, a good retirement,” read another. “Make Our Retirements Great Again,” read a third. |
| All had come out to express their fury at the government for daring to fix what many believe is not broken. While costly, the current pension regime guarantees the French an unequaled level of security in retirement, with an old-age poverty rate nearly eight times smaller than that in the United States. | All had come out to express their fury at the government for daring to fix what many believe is not broken. While costly, the current pension regime guarantees the French an unequaled level of security in retirement, with an old-age poverty rate nearly eight times smaller than that in the United States. |
| Since the strike began on Dec. 5, centrist writers and analysts in France have again marveled at their compatriots’ passion for retirement, and the apparent lesser place accorded to the world of work. | Since the strike began on Dec. 5, centrist writers and analysts in France have again marveled at their compatriots’ passion for retirement, and the apparent lesser place accorded to the world of work. |
| In the magazine Le Point, the writer Pascal Bruckner criticized “the astonishing spectacle of high school students demonstrating for their pensions.” | In the magazine Le Point, the writer Pascal Bruckner criticized “the astonishing spectacle of high school students demonstrating for their pensions.” |
| But previous government efforts to change the pension system have elicited similar passions. | But previous government efforts to change the pension system have elicited similar passions. |
| “They’ve got to pull their plan and work with what we’ve already got,” Philippe Martinez, leader of the hard-left CGT union, leading the strike, told reporters at the head of Tuesday’s march across Paris. | “They’ve got to pull their plan and work with what we’ve already got,” Philippe Martinez, leader of the hard-left CGT union, leading the strike, told reporters at the head of Tuesday’s march across Paris. |
| On Monday, Mr. Macron suffered a sharp blow when his pensions reform czar, Jean-Paul Delevoye, the reform’s mastermind, was forced to resign over conflicts of interest, a government setback that the unions greeted with glee. | On Monday, Mr. Macron suffered a sharp blow when his pensions reform czar, Jean-Paul Delevoye, the reform’s mastermind, was forced to resign over conflicts of interest, a government setback that the unions greeted with glee. |
| The big movement against the government’s pension reform has touched two fundamental aspects of contemporary French life: unease over the future and a dyed-in-the-wool belief that the street is the best place to challenge policy. | The big movement against the government’s pension reform has touched two fundamental aspects of contemporary French life: unease over the future and a dyed-in-the-wool belief that the street is the best place to challenge policy. |
| “We have to try to change things, and unfortunately, it has to be done by striking and protesting,” said Amelie Devalckeneer, a 33-year-old teacher wearing a symbolic yellow vest, in homage to the protests earlier this year. “It’s the only way we can be heard.” | “We have to try to change things, and unfortunately, it has to be done by striking and protesting,” said Amelie Devalckeneer, a 33-year-old teacher wearing a symbolic yellow vest, in homage to the protests earlier this year. “It’s the only way we can be heard.” |
| Even in the misery of the RER A platform this week, there was support for the anti-pensions reform movement. “I’m with the strikers. The government has changed the rules in the middle of the game,” said Stephane Castex, who works in a bank’s information technology department. He had just failed to get on an overcrowded train. | Even in the misery of the RER A platform this week, there was support for the anti-pensions reform movement. “I’m with the strikers. The government has changed the rules in the middle of the game,” said Stephane Castex, who works in a bank’s information technology department. He had just failed to get on an overcrowded train. |
| “I’m putting myself in their place,” said Mr. Castex. “I would fight like this if I was them. They signed a contract, and were given benefits. And now they’re losing those benefits.” | “I’m putting myself in their place,” said Mr. Castex. “I would fight like this if I was them. They signed a contract, and were given benefits. And now they’re losing those benefits.” |
| Rita Chahine, a freelance fashion designer, hopped on the last suburban train in from the Val d’Europe. She had been stuck at home for two weeks, but couldn’t afford to stay away from work any longer. She was not angry. “I support everything that is going to make the future, the country and the people better,” she said. “But it’s true that we are penalized right now.” | Rita Chahine, a freelance fashion designer, hopped on the last suburban train in from the Val d’Europe. She had been stuck at home for two weeks, but couldn’t afford to stay away from work any longer. She was not angry. “I support everything that is going to make the future, the country and the people better,” she said. “But it’s true that we are penalized right now.” |
| Amable Ceciliane, an 18-year-old cashier at the huge Bon Marché department and food store on the Left Bank, had commuted three hours into work in Paris on Tuesday, and was facing the same commute that evening. She supports the strikers. “They’re doing this for us as well. So even if it’s annoying, I still support them.” | Amable Ceciliane, an 18-year-old cashier at the huge Bon Marché department and food store on the Left Bank, had commuted three hours into work in Paris on Tuesday, and was facing the same commute that evening. She supports the strikers. “They’re doing this for us as well. So even if it’s annoying, I still support them.” |
| Still, there are some who are not so sure. Twice the crowds had kept Franck Legrand from boarding on the RER A platform. “You can’t reform France,” said Mr. Legrand, who had already walked from his job in the central Invalides district. | Still, there are some who are not so sure. Twice the crowds had kept Franck Legrand from boarding on the RER A platform. “You can’t reform France,” said Mr. Legrand, who had already walked from his job in the central Invalides district. |
| “This is not progress, this movement,” he said. “People can’t take this much longer.” | “This is not progress, this movement,” he said. “People can’t take this much longer.” |
| Daphne Angles and Aurelien Breeden contributed reporting. | Daphne Angles and Aurelien Breeden contributed reporting. |