Dozens of protesters gathered in Cannes this Sunday to oppose the pension reform imposed by the government of President Emmanuel Macron, away from the place where the annual film festival takes place for security reasons.
Protesters were forced to stay on the outskirts of the city, on Boulevard Carnot, far from the center of the festival, the Palais des Festivals, or Cannes’ seaside boulevard, the Croisette.
“We are against raising the retirement age, which will cause many people to die working,” said Tomas Ghestem, one of the protesters.
Ahead of the festival, local Cannes authorities banned demonstrations in much of the city. The unions have called for a new wave of demonstrations across the country on June 6.
The ban kept Cannes’ famed red carpet free of protests and prevented one of France’s most contentious issues from disrupting the festival’s normal run.
The exception came on Friday when hospital officials circumvented the ban by protesting on private land outside the Carlton Hotel, a historic luxury hotel where many stars stay during the festival. Hotel and restaurant workers held up a banner reading “No to pension reform.”
The fight against pension reform influenced much of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which comes at a time when Hollywood screenwriters are on strike. Film and television writers are calling for higher salaries, reforms for the streaming age and safeguards against the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
Actor Paul Dano said he planned to join the pickets when he returned home, and former actor and film director Sean Penn called the studios’ stance on AI “a human obscenity.”
The leadership of SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, approved earlier this week to ask its members to go on strike in their own negotiations with the studios for a new contract.
Source: TSF
