Protests continue across France today against raising the retirement age, which the government backed by President Emmanuel Macron decided to push through without the approval of the Chamber of Deputies. After the announcement of this procedure on Thursday, riots intensified in the demonstrations and the police arrested dozens more people overnight after new clashes.
Authorities in Paris have banned gatherings around the National Assembly and the Elysee Palace as a precaution, French media reports.
Police used tear gas in Nantes, Brest and Brodeaux on Saturday, according to Le Monde, while in the last mentioned city it was a reaction to fights and burning trash cans. Nine people ended up in custody. On Friday, approx. a hundred protesters.
Barricades and fires
On the Paris Square of Concord, which is located near the seat of the lower house of the parliament, they also met today thousands of people, some of whom built barricades, and a fire broke out in the square during the protest. Some of the protesters also clashed with the police, who also used tear gas.
In Lyon, some protesters broke into the fourth arrondissement town hall, which they damaged. In addition, according to the police, they tried to start a fire in the building, but they did not succeed after the intervention of law enforcement. The lighting of fires, the destruction of flower pots or the emptying of rubbish bins and other incidents are also reported from Strasbourg.
Garbage collectors are also on strike
Strikes also continue, including that of garbage collectors in Paris, where, according to the town hall, thousands of tons of garbage piled up on the streets. Protests are also expected in France on Sunday, and the unions are calling for another “mobilization” on Thursday.
“We warned the President of the Republic,” Philippe Martinez, head of the CGT trade union headquarters, commented on the development. He is one of the leaders of the two-month-long protests against the pension reform, which includes raising the retirement threshold by two years to 64.
According to the government and President Macron, it is necessary to implement this and other measures, to keep the French pension system financially afloatbut surveys indicate that the majority of the public does not agree with the interventions.
Dissatisfaction with the pension reform was also expressed by 37 percent of TotalEnergies refinery and warehouse employees who are on strike. Large parts of the French not only the reform, but also the way in which Macron is trying to enforce it, bothers him.
When approving changes to the pension system, the government bypassed the MPs because they did not have the majority support. This was made possible by an article in the constitution that allows the cabinet to pass a law without the National Assembly voting on it.
In such a case, however, the government runs the risk that deputies will trigger a vote of no confidence. Opposition lawmakers have already done so, and parliament is scheduled to discuss their initiative on Monday.
