13,000 police officers are on duty because of protests against raising the retirement age. More than 7,000 tons of rubbish pile up in the streets of Paris because of the pickers’ strike. The city sends bulldozers.
In France, renewed protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform have turned violent. Demonstrations in several cities began peacefully on Tuesday morning. Later, however, a branch of the BNP Paribas bank was set on fire in Nantes. A car was also set on fire and fireworks were fired at the police. Another burning car was reported in Rennes in the afternoon, where roads were also blocked.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had warned the day before that the protests could represent a “very serious threat to public order”. A total of 13,000 police were to be deployed during the day.
The unions accused the government of refusing to talk about the reform. “It is intolerable that we are being blocked,” CFDT chief Laurent Berger told a demonstration in Paris.
No vote in the National Council
The protests are directed against the gradual increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64. With the reform, the middle government wants to close a looming breach in the pension fund. The dispute worsened because the government pressed the text without a vote in the National Assembly. A week ago, two censure motions against the government failed. Thus, the reform was approved. It will now be analyzed by the Constitutional Council. Macron wants the reform to take effect by the end of the year.
Despite ongoing protests, the government is nowhere in sight. The head of the largest union, CFDT, Laurent Berger, suggested mediation on Tuesday. Reform is to be suspended for a few weeks to allow consultations with a small group of mediators. Government spokesman Olivier Véran declined. You can talk to each other without mediation.
Because of planned protests, a state visit by British King Charles III. it was canceled. There was a sigh of relief in Paris, where the CGT union announced the end of the garbage collectors’ strike after more than three weeks. More than 7,000 tons of garbage still pile up in the streets. The city is now using bulldozers.
(APA/Portal/dpa)