Violence erupted on Tuesday afternoon, on the tenth day of protests against pension reforms in France, with a very tense general climate and deadlocked dialogue between Emmanuel Macron’s executive and unions.
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In Paris, police intervened to disperse a group of thugs, some of whom looted a shop and set garbage cans on fire, AFP journalists noted. According to the police headquarters, 22 people were arrested.
Security forces fired tear gas grenades to “move the block” and allow “firefighters to intervene.”
Clashes between protesters and police broke out in Nantes (west), where a bank branch was set on fire and the administrative court targeted, and in Rennes (west), where numerous humiliations took place.
Opposition to this emblematic reform of Emmanuel Macron’s second five-year term, which extends the retirement age from 62 to 64, has become more radical since the government passed the text without a vote in the Assembly and motions of no-confidence, which were rejected on 20, have been suspended. March to overthrow him.
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The demonstrations, which have been peaceful for a long time, are now being interrupted by increasing violence, with many police officers, gendarmes, thugs and demonstrators in particular being injured or burning in public buildings.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced an “unprecedented security facility” with “13,000 police officers and gendarmes, including 5,500 in Paris” for Tuesday.
These law enforcement agencies faced a 20-40% drop in mobilization depending on the city. In the capital, the CGT announced 450,000 protesters, up from 800,000 on March 23, although authorities’ figures are not immediately available.
And government spokesman Olivier Véran assured on Wednesday that the executive is “the bulwark against illegitimate violence” while dismissing a union proposal to resort to “mediation”.
“We have the impression that no matter what we do, nothing changes,” regrets Suzanne, 21, a student interviewed by AFP in Lyon (Middle-East). “They push us to the limit, but don’t tire us.”
At the same time, blockades, pickets and demonstrations have been going on for days, cutting off fuel supplies to certain French regions and certain roads or logistics depots.
Train traffic was severely disrupted on Tuesday. And civil aviation on Tuesday asked airlines to suspend part of their flights on Thursday and Friday, particularly at Paris-Orly, because of the air traffic controllers’ strike.
More than 15% of petrol stations in France ran out of petrol or diesel on Monday, particularly in the south, west and Paris region.
In Paris, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe are closed due to a strike, as is the Palace of Versailles.
And thousands of tons of rubbish, used as fuel for thugs in the evenings, continue to litter the French capital after more than three weeks of refuse collectors’ strike. But the unions have announced the “suspension” of their movement from Wednesday.
While the government remains inflexible on reform, it proclaims its desire for appeasement. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne opened three-week consultations with parliamentarians, political parties, local politicians and social partners on Monday.
The unions, which have warned of an uncontrolled spin of the protest, do not want to give up on the retirement age, the cornerstone of their slogans, which since January have regularly brought together hundreds of thousands of 67 million people.
Reformist CFDT leader Laurent Berger, who is calling for a “pause” on that reform, on Tuesday urged the executive to set up a “mediation” to “find a way out.”
The leader of the CGT union, Philippe Martinez, announced that the Intersyndicale would “write to the President of the Republic” to ask him again to “suspend his project”, while certain left-wing opposition voices, such as communist leader Fabien Roussel accuse Emmanuel Macron of “making the movement mad”.
“No need for mediation,” replied the government spokesman, who agreed to negotiate a range of work-related issues. However, he believes that the reform has been passed and its fate is in the hands of the Constitutional Council.
But even within the majority, the centrist MoDem MPs said they were in favor of establishing mediation.
In the processions, note a larger number of young people mobilized in particular on the subject of police violence, some of which have been widely shared on social networks. The Council of Europe criticized “excessive use of force”.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin will be heard in the National Assembly in the coming days on “managing the maintenance of order,” a parliamentary source said.
A sign of the damaging climate, particularly violent clashes against protesters and law enforcement on Saturday in a rural region of central France amid hostility to a water reservoir project.