Paris, France (Reuters) – As many on the left do, Isabelle-Touria Boumhi, 60, a nursing assistant, believes supporting either Emmanuel Macron or Marine Le Pen in last Sunday’s French presidential runoff would have meant choosing “between the plague and cholera.”
She did not cast a ballot. Rather than that, she is ready to participate in Sunday’s May Day demonstrations.
And, in a possible preview of what a recently re-elected Macron may face if he pursues pro-business measures, including a proposal to delay the retirement age, Boumhi says she will go to the streets as often as necessary to oppose this.
“It’s the only way we have left to gain anything, “said the single mother, who must budget every penny with a gross wage of just under 2,000 euros ($2,107) to house and feed herself and her 22-year-old student daughter.
“I used to give myself a little more every now and then, but now that I’ve paid the power bill and the rent, I’d struggle to go on vacation.“
When Macron ran for president, the cost of living was one of the main issues he talked about. It looks like that will be the case in the upcoming parliamentary elections, which Macron’s party and allies need to win in order to carry out his ideas.
His current administration has put price limits on gas and electricity increases, and he has said that he will take even more steps to protect customers’ purchasing power in the event of a big rise in prices. These include pension increases.
There was also a big rise in inflation in April, to 5.4 percent, and the GDP slowed in the first three months of the year, which made it easier for people to attack the government and hold public protests.
‘ANGER‘
If you work in the health care field, the government is trying to make your job better. Boumhi started getting a 228 euro per month bonus on top of her salary last year as part of this effort. She says the bonus hasn’t calmed her down or made her more comfortable.
On Sunday, she will march for pay hikes and to pressure Macron to abandon plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 65. “If we do not gain anything, things might spiral out of control,” she said. “There is a great deal of pent-up rage.”
Philippe Martinez, the hard-line CGT union’s leader, will also attend Sunday’s May Day rallies.
Additionally, he has a number of messages for the government.
“The government’s purchasing power deficit must be addressed via pay increases,” Martinez told Reuters in an interview.
Martinez said that Macron “can not repeat what he did in 2017 when he believed that everyone who voted for him agreed with his program,” She added that many supported Macron both times, not for his agenda but to prevent far-right contender Marine Le Pen from being elected.
If there isn’t any pressure on Macron, he will think he can make changes that aren’t good for the people. The CGT wants workers to keep pressure on Macron in the streets and through strikes after the May Day protests, he said.
It was even the more moderate Laurent Berger of the CFDT union who told Macron in a Le Monde newspaper piece that he should listen to workers’ demands or face violent street protests.
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