Macron bets on victory due to fatigue

Despite the protests, Macron is unstoppable and promises to continue the controversial pension reform

By Sergio Lirio 03/30/2023 12:21 pm

tug of war Macron reinforced security on Tuesday 28th but protests were small. Unions return to the streets on April 6 Photo: Charly Triballeau/AFP and Ludovic Marin/AFP

Emmanuel Macron relies on victory because of fatigue. And with violence. The French President mobilized an unprecedented police presence on Tuesday 28th, the tenth day of protests against the pension reform carried out without the consent of MPs in the National Assembly. About 13,000 agents, more than half in Paris, tightened the cordons to confront the hundreds of thousands of French who took to the streets of the capital and the country’s main cities. It was no use. Or the increased policing, added to Macron’s intransigence in talks with the unions leading the demonstrations, led to another afternoon of anger, destruction and arrests. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 201 protesters were arrested and 175 police officers injured in the violent clashes. “We have proposed a way out and it is unacceptable that we are being handicapped again,” lamented Laurent Berger, president of the CFDT, one of the most moderate unions. Berger and other union leaders propose appointing a mediator and halting reform until a negotiated solution is found. Macron refuses to dialogue and promises to stick to the schedule for implementing changes in the pension system the reform will take effect in September. Amid the turmoil, Parisians and tourists will get at least one reprieve. The street sweepers announced the end of the threeweek strike during which 7,000 tons of garbage accumulated in alleys, alleys and avenues turned the City of Light into the “City of Garbage”.

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