Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 154 police officers were injured during protests in France. The minister announced this evening that some of them were seriously injured. In addition, there were 111 arrests across the country.
On the eleventh day of strikes and protests against the controversial raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64, there was violence and riots in Paris and other major cities. Fires were also set. The police used tear gas against the protesters. According to authorities, 570,000 people took part in the demonstrations.
Company premises invaded
In Paris, protesters stormed a company building in Paris. Videos showed them holding flags and singing. “It takes money to fund our pension system. There are some here,” a spokesperson for the railway union CGT Cheminots told the megaphone, according to the newspaper “Le Parisien”. “Instead of taking two years off workers’ lives, Macron should look for him here.” American Wealth Manager Blackrock is also located in the building.
During Macron’s first term, Blackrock became something of an enemy during strikes and protests against planned reform at the time – reform opponents believed that the asset manager was benefiting from Macron’s reform plans and influenced them. Blackrock denied this. Blackrock has not played a role in the current protests.
Blocked access to Paris airport
Protesters also blocked access to part of Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, as well as blocking roads and colleges in several locations.
Portal/Stephanie Lecocq
In the afternoon, radical demonstrators and security forces clashed near the Parisian restaurant La Rotonde, where Macron celebrated his victory in the 2017 elections. Several protesters dressed in black threw bottles, stones and firecrackers at the police. Security forces used tear gas. The awning of the well-known restaurant caught fire, but it was quickly extinguished.