Protesters who invaded the building began chanting directly targeting BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. STEPHANIE LECOCQ / REUTERS
The occupants had left a general assembly at the Gare de Lyon on the occasion of the interprofessional strike against the pension reform.
Railway workers on strike against the pension reform invaded for about twenty minutes Thursday the former headquarters of Crédit Lyonnais in Paris, the historic Centorial building notably housing BlackRock today, with strong smoke bombs and whistles. “We are here!sang the SUD-Rail and CGT activists in the hall of the huge building in the 2nd arrondissement of the capital, chosen because it symbolizes, according to them, banks and wealth.
Protesters who invaded the building began chanting directly targeting BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, before resuming “Anti, anti-capitalistsamidst the smoke generated by the smoke bombs. “There is only one way out: it is the withdrawal of the law, it is victory!Launched Fabien Villedieu, Sud-Rail union representative, surrounded by demonstrators.
They had left a general assembly at the Gare de Lyon on the occasion of the interprofessional strike against the pension reform. The building now houses several finance companies, including BlackRock. Entering around noon without obstacle or violence, the demonstrators came out around 12:20 p.m., continuing their demonstration in the center of Paris, under the astonished or amused gaze of passers-by. There did not seem to have been any degradation, according to an AFP journalist on the spot. The police arrived soon after.
In the morning, the Natixis bank, a subsidiary of Banque Populaire Caisse d’Epargne (BPCE), was also the target of activists. The anti-globalization NGO Attac occupied the hall of the company’s headquarters located in 13e arrondissement of Paris, according to publications on Twitter from the NGO. Activists carried a banner “tax evasion seriously harms our pensions“. Natixis and four other banks are under investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) for suspicion of tax evasion.
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