In the midst of a wave of protests in France against the bill that would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, protesters set fire to the town hall building in Bordeaux, in the southwest of the country, this Thursday. However, firefighters were able to quickly contain the fire.
Mayor Pierre Hurmic said he was “extremely shocked”. “I deplore any act of violence. The right to demonstrate is a constitutional right, not to steal. How can we not condemn such acts of vandalism in the strongest terms. Psychologically, I feel very hurt, very shocked by this initiative, and I think like all the municipal and elected officials of the city of Bordeaux, who do not understand this act of vandalism. We are organizing to guard the entrance to the Chamber of Bordeaux tonight,” he said.
#ReformesDesRetraites The entrance of the mairie de #Bordeaux and feu pic.twitter.com/i2AffFVGzd
– Rue89 Bordeaux (@Rue89Bordeaux) March 23, 2023
The mobilization against the revision of the pension law continues to increase in France, a week after the automatic approval of the diploma, but the ninth day of contestation this Thursday was also marked by more violence in the streets.
This day of nationwide protests — the ninth since Jan. 19, but the first since the government resorted to a constitutional provision on March 16 to pass the text without a parliamentary vote — according to the trade union federation General Confederation of Work (CGT) and 1.08 million, police said.
Paris registered a record number of protesters and mobilization has more than doubled nationwide compared to the eighth day of competition, on March 15, when 480,000 people took to the streets in France, according to the interior ministry.
Shortly before the start of the Paris parade, the general secretary of the reformist French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT), Laurent Berger, commented on an “increased mobilization” and called for “non-violence”, following the radicalization of the protest there for a few days.
In turn, his CGT counterpart, Philippe Martinez, defended that the French President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, “threw fuel on the fire” with his television interview on Wednesday, in which he remained adamant and reiterated “the need” for this revision of the pension law.
Despite the great unpopularity of the measure raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without financial penalties – according to polls – Macron insisted in the interview that the law should be applied “before the end of the year”, appealing acting on the defense of the “national interest”, given the financial degradation of pension funds and the aging of the population.
Martinez recalled that the unions wrote to the head of state a few weeks ago warning him of “the explosive situation” of discontent in the country.
In the capital, where the CGT announced 800,000 demonstrators, violence soon broke out in front of the procession: hooded men threw paving stones, bottles and rockets at the security forces – who responded by hurling tear gas grenades -, destroyed street furniture, smashed shop windows and the setting fire to the garbage bags that had accumulated in the street, after more than two weeks of strike by the collection services, forcing the fire brigade to intervene.
The police command, which registered “about a thousand” radical elements in the capital, said 14 arrests had been made by late afternoon.
In Nantes and Rennes, in the west of the country, there were also clashes between demonstrators and police, who used tear gas and water cannons, while in Lorient the police command was targeted.
More or less strong tensions were also observed in other cities, such as Toulouse and Lille (north).
Trade union centers also claimed record participation in the protests in Marseille, in the south of France, with 280,000 people, as opposed to the 16,000 counted by the city council, a major count mismatch, classic in the country’s second largest city.
Police had indicated they expected “between 600,000 and 800,000 people” at demonstrations across the country.
The marches were marked by strong youth participation and several dozen of the 3,750 high schools, colleges and universities were barricaded.
There were also major disruptions to rail transport and the Paris Metro, and the supply of fuel to the Paris region and its airports via Normandy (west) “becomes essential” due to strikes at refineries, the Ministry of Transit said.
The government, led by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, has already “issued a requisition order” for strikers at the TotalEnergies refinery in Normandy, which closed last weekend and where fuel distribution has been suspended.
Meanwhile, late today, unions called for a 10th day of demonstrations and strikes to be held on Tuesday, March 28.
“As the executive tries to turn the page, this eternal and responsible social and trade union movement reaffirms the determination of the world of work and youth to scrap the law,” the union delegates affirmed.
If the date is confirmed, the 10th day of protests in France will coincide with British monarch Charles III’s state visit to the country, which will take place between March 26 and 29 and will be the monarch’s first official visit abroad before his coronation.
Source: DN
