- The government rejects the unions’ call for the bill to be suspended
- Protesters angry at the bill and at Macron
- Transport hubs, energy sector hit by strikes
PARIS/NANTES, France, March 28 (Portal) – Black-clad groups set fire to bins and threw projectiles at Paris police, who responded with tear gas, on the sidelines of a march against President Emmanuel Macron and his deeply unpopular pension bill.
Similar rallies also saw clashes in cities including Rennes, Bordeaux and Toulouse, with a bank branch and cars set on fire in Nantes.
But while public frustration has turned into broader anti-Macron sentiment, the level of violence on Tuesday was nowhere near that of last week, and rallies have otherwise been largely peaceful.
Earlier in the day, the government rejected a new demand from unions to suspend and reconsider the Pensions Act, which will push the retirement age by two years to 64, infuriating union leaders who said the government must find a way out of the crisis .
The government said it was more than ready to talk to unions but on other issues, reiterating it would remain firm on the pensions front.
Millions of people have demonstrated and joined strikes since mid-January to express their opposition to the law.
Protests have intensified since the government with special powers pushed the law through parliament without a vote.
Capturing the sentiment, a protester in Paris waved a banner that read, “France is angry”.
“The (pension) bill has acted as a catalyst for anger at Macron’s policies,” said 31-year-old Fanny Charier, who works for Pole Emploi’s jobseekers office, at the same rally.
Macron, who has promised pension reform in his two presidential campaigns, says changes are needed to balance the country’s finances. Unions and opposition parties say there are other ways to do it.
“We have proposed a way out… and it is unacceptable that we will be blocked again,” CFDT union leader Laurent Berger told reporters at the start of a rally in Paris.
CAR FIRES
On the last major day of protests on Thursday, “Black Bloc” anarchists smashed shop windows, vandalized bus shelters and looted a McDonald’s restaurant in Paris, with similar actions in other cities.
It was one of the worst street violence in France in years, and brought with it scenes reminiscent of riots by Yellow Vest supporters during Macron’s first term in office.
On Tuesday, the rallies were initially largely peaceful, with some clashes on the sidelines.
In the western city of Nantes, the boarded-up facade of a BNP Paribas bank branch was set on fire. On the fringes of the rally, a car was set on fire while some firecrackers were fired at the police.
“I’m non-violent, but I understand people going that far,” said 69-year-old retired postman Noel Cassin in Nantes.
“If you just go and demonstrate, sing songs and eat sausages, and then go home after losing a day’s work (and getting no result), it’s useless.”
Also in western France, protesters blocked the Rennes ring road and set fire to an abandoned car. In Paris and Marseille, demonstrators temporarily blocked train tracks.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday that the authorities expected the demonstrations on Tuesday to pose a “very serious threat to public order”.
Persistent strikes in the transport, aviation and energy sectors continued to affect travel.
In a move bringing relief to Parisians and tourists alike, the city’s garbage collectors said they would suspend their weeks-long strike that has left the streets around famous landmarks littered with piles of rubbish.
And fewer teachers went on strike than on the previous days. Union leaders have pointed to high inflation making it difficult for workers to sacrifice a day’s wages on the picket line.
There were also fewer protesters in Marseille and other cities than at previous rallies.
Nonetheless, as of Monday night, about 17% of all gas stations in France were missing at least one product, said the French petroleum association UFIP, citing data from the Energy Ministry.
Charles de Courson of the opposition Liot party said French authorities should learn from the situation in Israel, where the government has just paused on a controversial judicial reform.
Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, Stephane Mahe, Antony Paone, Bertrand Boucey, Eric Gaillard, Elizabeth Pineau, Marc Leras, Forrest Crellin, Jean-Michel Belot; writing by Ingrid Melander; Edited by Alison Williams and Giles Elgood
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