French protesters are piling piles of garbage bags into makeshift barricades against riot police as pro-pensions demonstrations rage across the country
- Striking garbage collectors have left piles of rubbish in the streets of the French capital
- Demonstrations against plans to raise the statutory retirement age have turned violent
Fears of more unrest on the streets of France mounted this weekend as the government struggled to contain the demonstrations that sparked unrest across the country.
Garbage dumped by striking garbage collectors continued to pile up in Paris, some serving as makeshift barricades for protesters.
The demonstrations sparked by President Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to raise the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 have turned violent in the past decade.
The doors of Bordeaux City Hall were lit on Thursday evening, according to Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin, igniting more than 903 fires across Paris.
Firefighters check rubbish after extinguishing a fire during a demonstration, a week after the government pushed a pension reform without a vote under Article 49.3 of the Constitution through Parliament in Paris March 23, 2023
Overflowing garbage cans in the streets as collectors go on strike in Paris
Menacing graffiti reading ‘Death to the King’ and ‘Beheading Macron’ have been posted around the Place de la Concorde in the capital.
Garbage has not been collected since March 6, freeing up thousands of tons of garbage for masked protesters to burn.
They see Mr Macron’s insistence that pension reforms be enshrined in law without a vote in the lower house of Parliament later this year as an attack on their way of life.
An effigy of the President, who has been compared to a monarch with “contempt” for the republic, was burned.
More than 450 protesters were arrested Thursday as around 300 rallies across the country drew at least a million protesters. Events in Paris were largely peaceful, with minor clashes with police on Thursday evening.
Clashes between police and demonstrators also erupted in the western cities of Nantes, Rennes and Lorient.
Train and air travel has been disrupted, as has work at oil refineries, and schools have also been hit as teachers joined the strikes. The Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles were closed on Thursday.
There were isolated protests yesterday. Trains slowed, lines of trucks blocked the approach to the port of Marseille for several hours and more rubbish piled up on the streets of Paris.
Mr Macron has been forced to postpone the state visit of King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, after unions called for a tenth national day of action during Tuesday’s visit.
Hundreds of thousands of French workers once again demonstrated their anger against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms
Firefighters extinguished the front door of Bordeaux City Hall which was on fire during a wild demonstration
At least 4,000 police and gendarmes were expected to be mobilized for the occasion, at a time when the armed forces are already overstretched and exhausted to patrol the weeks-long protests.
The embattled president conceded that it would be “imprudent and lacking in common sense” to go ahead with the visit.
“As we have a considerable friendship, respect and esteem for His Majesty and the Queen Consort and the British people, I have taken the initiative to telephone [the King] and explain the situation,” he said yesterday. “Common sense and friendship have led us to propose a postponement.”
With major police resources being expended keeping streets safe during widespread protests, the French president could face further humiliation if more cancellations are called for, including the popular Paris marathon.
Around 50,000 runners are expected at the start line on the Champs-Elysees next Sunday, with bands and supporters lining the streets.
The organizers of the marathon told the Chron last night there were “no problems” with the event.