1 million march in France, unions call new pension protests
France’s Pension System Under Scrutiny: Unions Call for Continued Protests
Unions have called new strikes and protests to coincide with King Charles III’s planned visit to France next week, with more than 1 million people across the country protesting popular pension reforms on Thursday.
The Interior Ministry said the march in Paris, which was marred by protests like elsewhere, attracted 119,000 people. Polls show a majority of French people reject President Emmanuel Macron’s law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, saying the system should be kept intact.
The strongly-affiliated union has called for new protests and strikes on Tuesday as the British royal is scheduled to arrive in Bordeaux on the second day of his visit to France. According to Sud Ouest newspaper, the heavy wooden doors of the Bordeaux city hall were set on fire and vandalized by members of an unauthorized demonstration on Thursday evening.
According to the ministry, more than a million people across the country took part in protest marches in cities and towns across the country.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin visited police headquarters on Thursday night to find fires still burning in parts of Paris long after the march had ended.
The demonstrations came days after Macron further angered critics by sticking to a pension law that forced his government through parliament without a vote.
“While (the president) is trying to turn the page, these communities and unions … confirm the determination of the world of workers and youth to push back on reforms,” the eight trade unions organizing the protest said in a statement. This led to localized action over the weekend and new strikes and protests across the country on Tuesday.
The attack increased travel as protesters blocked train stations, Charles Gaulle airport in Paris, oil refineries and ports.
Street battles between police and black-masked gangs that attacked at least two fast-food restaurants, a supermarket and a bank in Paris signaled an escalation in violence and attracted tens of thousands of peaceful protesters.
Shot with objects and fireworks, the police repeatedly charged and fired tear gas to disperse the rioters. At the end of the rally, the Place de l’Opera, where the demonstrators gathered, was filled with tear gas. About 1,000 people are assessed as “radical elements” by the police.
The violence led to other protests, particularly in the western cities of Nantes, Rennes and Lorient – where administrative buildings were attacked, police station courtyards burned and windows broken – and in Lyon in the southeast.
Thursday’s national protest was the ninth organized by unions since January, even as opponents hope parliament will reject Macron’s measure to raise the retirement age. But the government forced it through special constitutional measures.
In an interview on Wednesday, Macron declined to say whether new laws were needed to finance the pension fund. Opponents have proposed other solutions, including more taxes on the wealthy or companies, which Macron says would harm the economy. He said that the government’s bill to raise the retirement age should be implemented by the end of the year.
The Constitutional Council must now approve the measure. But the opponent refused to give up.
“We are trying to say that before the law is passed, we have to find a way out, and finding a way out means passing the law,” said Laurent Berger, head of the CFDT trade union. He told the Associated Press.
High-speed and regional trains, the Paris Metro and public transport systems in other major cities have been cut. About 30% of flights at Paris Orly Airport have been cancelled.
The Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles, where the British monarch was due to dine with Macron, were closed on Thursday because of the attack.
The violence that often erupts during protests has escalated in recent days. Gerald Darmanin said 12,000 security forces would be on the streets of France on Thursday, with 5,000 in Paris.
About 24 percent of teachers in elementary and junior high schools were fired Thursday, and 15 percent in high schools, the Education Minister said in a statement.
At Gare de Lyon train station in Paris, several hundred strikers stormed the tracks to stop trains, setting fires and chanting “and we’re going, we’re going until you step down” and “Macron, go.”
“This year, maybe our holidays won’t be so good,” said Maxim Monin, 46, a fellow community trade employee.
