The protests come amid anger among French people and workers over the government’s push to raise the retirement age without a vote in parliament. Under the pension reform proposal of French President Emmanuel Macron, the retirement age of French workers will be increased by two years, to 64 years old.
Increasing unrest and strikes have left President Macron facing the most serious challenge to his administration since the “Yellow Vests” protests four years ago. Protesters chanted on Place d’Italie in the south of Paris: “Mr Macron, resign!”
However, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire took a tough stance with the newspaper The Parisian: “Reform must be done… Violence cannot be tolerated”.
Police on the street in Paris on March 18. Photo: EPA-EFE
Riot police used tear gas and clashed with some in the crowd as trash cans were set on fire. Photo: Reuters
Riot police used tear gas and clashed with some in the crowd as trash cans were set on fire.
French authorities decided to ban protests in front of the parliament house after many consecutive nights of unrest. Protests in the center of the Place de la Concorde and the nearby Champ-Elysees avenue were banned on the evening of March 18, following demonstrations that resulted in 61 arrests the night before.
Radio RT reported that 36 people were arrested in the city of Lyon after protesters allegedly tried to break into and set fire to the town hall.
According to the news agency Reutersthere were 81 arrests on the evening of March 18.
Police surround an arrested protester on March 18. Photo: EPA-EFE
Earlier, in Paris, a group of students and activists from the Revolution Permanente organization quickly entered the Forum des Halles shopping mall, waving banners calling for a general strike.
TV BFM released pictures of protests taking place in many other cities such as Compiegne in the north of France, Nantes in the west and Marseille in the south. In the city of Bordeaux (in the southwestern region of this country), police used tear gas to restrain protesters from setting fires.
A large coalition of the main unions in France said they would continue to campaign to try to reverse new pension reforms. A nationwide one-day strike was scheduled for March 23.
Trash cans overflow on the streets of Paris on March 17. Photo: Reuters
Garbage piles up on the streets of Paris after sanitation workers refuse to collect it. Paris officials say the amount of garbage not being collected on the streets of Paris due to the waste workers’ strike has increased to 10,000 tons.
About 37% of employees working at the refineries and storage facilities of multinational oil and gas group TotalEnergies at several locations including Feyzin in southeastern France and Normandy in the north went on strike on 18-23. 3.
Other strikes also continued in the railway industry.
After eight days of nationwide protests since mid-January and many strikes taking place in French localities, so far, the protests against pension reform in this country have largely taken place in the middle of the year. peace. The unrest over the past three days is reminiscent of the “yellow vest” protests that erupted in late 2018 over soaring fuel prices.