Again protests in France for pension increase, riots in Paris

AFPProtester holding a protest sign referring to Macron’s reform

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 21:09

In Paris, demonstrators took to the streets for the third day in a row to protest against the increase in the retirement age. The protests were largely peaceful, but by the end of the day protesters in Paris clashed with the police.

In addition to Paris, people took to the streets in Nantes and Marseille, among others. In the latter city, demonstrators managed to occupy the main train station for about fifteen minutes. The protests were mostly peaceful during the day.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the south of Paris. They called for the resignation of President Macron, who bypassed parliament to push through the pension reform. Due to the unrest in the capital in recent days, the centrally located Champs-Elysées and the adjacent Place de la Concorde have been banned from gathering.

Strikes have been announced for next Monday in various sectors, including transport.

Disturbances

On Thursday and yesterday, disturbances broke out in the capital during demonstrations. In the center, the police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse people. Since the 2018 ‘yellow vest’ demonstrations, which started because of the high fuel prices, France has not seen such unrest at protests.

The demonstrators oppose President Macron’s plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. To push through the unpopular increase, Macron sidelined parliament earlier this week. He resorted to a special constitutional procedure because it was by no means certain that parliament would agree to the pension adjustment. The Senate has already agreed to this.

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