2023-05-01 16:13:13
STRIKES
More than 1 million people took to the streets on France in the traditional May 1st protests, with clashes in cities including Toulouse, Nantes, Rennes and Paris – where a police officer received serious burns from a Molotov cocktail.
Published: 1 May 2023 16:28 CEST
Protesters assemble on Place de la Republique, Paris, on May Day. Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP
Unions had been hoping for a vast turnout at the dozens of demos across France, with Emmanuel Macron’s deeply unpopular pension reform remaining the focus of the protests.
Macron last month signed a law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite months of strikes against the bill.
“The law has been passed but has not been accepted, there is a desire to show discontent peacefully to have a reaction in response that shows a certain level of decency,” said Celine Bertoni, 37, an academic in the central city of Clermont-Ferrand.
“I still hope that we are going to be told it will be withdrawn,” she added.
“Macron has the impression that as he was elected he has all the power! But I want him to cede his place to the people,” added Karine Catteau, 45, in the western city of Rennes.
The main march in Paris kicked off at 2pm along the traditional protest route of Place de la Republique to Place de la Nation, with a heavy downpour suddenly beginning at the very moment it started.
Police had been given a last-minute go-ahead to use drones as a security measure after a Paris court rejected a petition from rights groups for them not to be used.
Although the majority of demonstrators were peaceful, at 4pm police said that there had been 40 arrests in Paris, while one police officer suffered serious burns from a Molotov cocktail.
Police officers catch fire after throwing a molotov cocktail. Very intense clashes in Paris@LucAuffret pour @LibreQg#ReformesDesRetraites #1erm pic.twitter.com/9TjoNryQDV
— HQ the free media (@LibreQg) May 1, 2023
Police used tear gas in Toulouse in southern France as tensions erupted during the demonstrations, while a car was set on fire in the southeastern city of Lyon.
???? Very violent clashes underway in #Paris : charges and projectiles. pic.twitter.com/yzt4fyBK0c
— Clement Lanot (@ClementLanot) May 1, 2023
In the western city of Nantes, police also fired tear gas after protesters hurled projectiles, AFP correspondents said. The windows of Uniqlo clothing store were smashed.
Macron and his government have tried to turn the page on the episode of popular discontent, one of the biggest challenges to his second term.
“The page is not going to be turned as long as there is no withdrawal of this pension reform. The determination to win is intact,” said the head of the CGT union Sophie Binet at the Paris protest.
“The mobilisation is still very, very strong,” added Laurent Berger, head of the CFDT union.
“It is a sign that resentment and anger are not diminishing.”
Radical ecological activists from Extinction Rebellion earlier sprayed orange paint on the facade of the glitzy Fondation Louis Vuitton museum in Paris, which is backed by the LVMH luxury goods giant.
In a separate action by a different environmental protest group, activists sprayed orange paint around the Place Vendome in central Paris, known for its jewellery shops, targeting the facade of the ministry of justice.
#Clashes #France #protesters #streets #Day