French unions staged a last-gasp protest over pension reform today but, with the law that raises the retirement age already on the statute books, the turnout was tiny and labour leaders less defiant than before.
Fewer than 50,000 protesters showed up for demonstrations in cities across the country, according to union estimates, while most public sector workers ignored calls to strike and public transport ran largely as normal.
The protest, scheduled before the unpopular pension reform became law earlier this month, was a mostly symbolic effort to show displeasure at a change that raises the minimum retirement age by two years to 62.
"We are in a peculiar phase, huge numbers of people have mobilised so it is neither exceptional nor surprising that the time has come for a breather," said Bernard Thibault, head of the powerful CGT union.
President Nicolas Sarkozy emerged victorious from his showdown with unions that had brought more than a million people into the streets on more than half a dozen occasions since the start of September, but he remains deeply unpopular.
Two opinion polls published today showed him losing a national election to Socialist rival Dominique Strauss-Kahn, currently head of the International Monetary Fund and a potential presidential candidate in 2012.
Mr Sarkozy has tried to turn the page, reshuffling his cabinet and announcing the removal of an unpopular tax cap that protects the richest, just as he takes up the rotating presidency of the G20 club of economic powers.
In a live television interview last week, he said there had been no winner or loser in the battle over pension reform.
Yet unions have not given up and some hold out the hope of extracting more concessions on pensions - mostly for niche groups such as working mothers or those experiencing hardship on the job - before the law goes into effect in July next year.
Other unions are aiming for a new round of debate on pensions, scheduled for 2013, to raise concerns.
Olivier Besancenot, a postal worker turned politician who heads the Anti-Capitalist Party, said Tuesday's protests were a "booster shot" for social outrage.
"The coals are still hot," he said. "Social upheaval could very well start up again over pensions, salaries, jobs, or on any other issue like care for the elderly that the government has chosen to put on the table."
Reuters