New clashes erupted in France this Tuesday amid protests against the reform of the pension law enacted by President Emmanuel Macron, whose government rejected requests for “mediation” to find a way out of the increasingly violent social conflict.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to demand the repeal of this law amid protests that saw radical demonstrators and security forces clash in cities such as Rennes, Nantes and Paris.
In the capital, security forces fired tear gas grenades at hundreds of people, dressed in black and with their faces covered, who robbed a shop and set fire to rubbish bins, AFP journalists found.
Tensions have increased since Macron decided by decree on March 16 to postpone the retirement age from 62 to 64 and increase the contribution period to 43 in order to be entitled to a full pension until 2027.
On Thursday, authorities said there were already 457 arrests and 441 injured in a context of criticism of policing by human rights NGOs and the Council of Europe.
Images of the battle returned to the front pages on Saturday, during protests against an agricultural dam intended for agribusiness in Sainte-Soline (central west), leaving two demonstrators in a coma.
In both cases, “there was a disproportionate use of force that we had already denounced during the yellow vests,” Jean-Claude Samouiller of the NGO Amnesty International told AFP, recalling the social protests in 2018 and 2019.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Tuesday mobilized 13,000 agents in an “unprecedented security apparatus” and warned of the presence in Paris of “more than 10,000 radicals, some from abroad”.
Pending official data, the CGT union has already announced that there will be about 450,000 demonstrators in the French capital. Police expect between 650,000 and 900,000 across France, fewer than the previous day of protests on March 23.
“No More Denials”
Authorities have struggled in recent days to criminalize the protests and undermine public support, accusing Macron of not accepting the rejection of his plan.
At the same time, the government and the unions say they are looking for a way to calm down, but they are firm in their position: the union federations want the repeal or suspension of the reform and the government says no.
The government spokesman, Olivier Véran, on Tuesday rejected the latest union proposal to seek “mediation” to find a way out, stating that they can “speak directly”.
“No more denials!” replied the leader of the moderate trade union CFDT, Laurent Berger, who had proposed this idea and had the support of one of Macron’s main allies, the centrist MoDem party.
The liberal president is under pressure. His government argues that the reform is essential to avoid a deficit in the pension fund, but that in addition to the uncertain support in parliament, it also needs the support of trade unions and the public.
Awaiting the opinion of the Constitutional Council in April on its validity, Macron is quickly trying to turn the page to other priorities such as health, education and ensuring a stable majority in parliament.
At the same time, unions are not throwing in the towel. “The movement is not exhausted,” warned CGT leader Philippe Martinez Clermont-Ferrand (centre), highlighting the participation of “many young people” in the marches.
“I am still very young, but the government’s response (…) has given me the will to fight,” Simeon Ronzier, a 20-year-old student from Lille, told AFP.
In 2006, youth and trade union mobilization succeeded in getting the then government to withdraw a controversial youth contract passed by decree.
In addition to the blockade of high schools and universities, the protests have been taking different forms for weeks: power cuts, 15% gas stations out of fuel, trains and flights cancelled, public transport in Paris disrupted and even the Eiffel Tower was closed this Tuesday.
Garbage workers in Paris decided to end a three-week strike this Wednesday, which had seen thousands of tons of rubbish piled on the streets, but with the aim of returning to the fight “with more violence”, the CGT said.
Source: DN
