French Artists and Culture Professionals Are Skipping Work to Join the Pension-Reform Protests That Have Paralyzed Paris

Hundreds of thousands of French workers, including scores of
artists, walked out on their jobs this week to demonstrate against
a proposed overhaul of the country’s byzantine pension system,
paralyzing museums and popular tourist destinations.

Several major institutions and monuments were closed yesterday
as museum workers joined the widening movement against President
Emmanuel Macron’s reforms. Authorities estimate that more than
600,000 protesters mobilized across the country on Tuesday.

Among the museums shuttered yesterday were the Musée Rodin, the
Versailles Palace, the Musée du Quai Brany, and Musée Picasso.
Monuments including the Eiffel Tower were also closed. Most museums
have since reopened, but some are still partially closed or are
closing early, including the Centre Pompidou and the Musée D’Orsay.
The Louvre remains open, but a notice on its website warns visitors
that “due to public strikes, the museum may open later and some
exhibitions may remain closed.”

The reforms were introduced in an attempt to bring about a
universal pension system to replace a convoluted group of more than
40 plans that affect workers in a wide range of
industries. While the aim is to introduce a simpler system,
the reforms would also remove special privileges and demand that
beneficiaries work longer—until the age of 64—to earn full
benefits.

Among the artists who stand to lose the most are those who work
in physically taxing jobs. Philippe Gautier, the general
secretary of the national labor union for artists and musicians,
tells Artnet News that members of the Paris Opera Ballet are
currently able to retire at 42 years old, a benefit that is at
risk. Of the 154 dancers in the company, some 120 have taken to the
streets.

“The dancers of the Paris Opera are mobilized,” one of the
dancers, Alexandre Carniato, told the French outlet FranceInfo. “Can we seriously think that
dancing on points and practicing a high-level sport at 64 years old
is reasonable?”

“All workers can be affected by these reforms, and of course
artists are among them,” Gautier tells Artnet News. “There is a
fairly high number of artists participating in the demonstrations
and strikes, both those in permanent positions, such as members of
the symphonic orchestra or opera house, and freelance artists.”

Freelancers, he says, could be particularly affected by the
reforms, although details of the government’s plans for such
workers remain unclear. His union is calling on artists to
join the strikes, arguing that the changes could be
“catastrophic.”

“The problem is that the proposed reforms are too vague,”
Gautier says. At the moment, pensions for artists are calculated
based on their 25 most lucrative years. But the new plan would take
into account an artist’s career earnings.

“Since artists usually have good years and bad years, a
calculation based on the best 25 years would clearly be more
favorable,” Gautier says.

“I am totally in solidarity with
the strikers and the movement, as are many other artists,” French
artist Claude Lévêque tells Artnet News. “More than that, I am a
part of this movement. Even if the question of retirement is not
quite the same among artists, I do not think it is acceptable for a
society to exploit people and then leave them to live the final
years of their lives in penury.”

“The risk [of the reforms] is
that they will give credibility to Marine Le Pen,” Lévêque
says, referring to the far-right leader of the National Rally
party, formerly known as the National Front.

The post French Artists and Culture Professionals Are
Skipping Work to Join the Pension-Reform Protests That Have
Paralyzed Paris appeared first on artnet News.