In France, there have been further large-scale protests against President Macron’s plans to reform the pension system. According to the country’s interior ministry, around 1.28 million people took part. The largest CGT trade union association announced 3.5 million protesters across the country and around 700,000 people who took to the streets of Paris.
During the March 7 actions, 80% of trains were canceled in France, public transport was disrupted in the capital and other major cities, and classes were canceled in many schools. Protesters also blocked fuel supplies to all oil refineries in the country.
The government is proposing to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 and to raise the minimum period of employee contributions to the pension fund to 43 years. At the same time, the amount of the minimum pension should increase to 1,200 euros per month. Opponents of the reform consider the government’s plans to be unreasonably harsh. According to polls, two-thirds of French people oppose the proposed changes.
The unions promise new demonstrations from March 11 in order to paralyze the whole country. The bill will be considered in the Senate until March 12, after which it will return to the National Assembly for a final vote. During a demonstration in Paris, demonstrators clashed with police, following which 43 people were arrested. Similar skirmishes took place in other cities such as Nantes, Rennes and Lyon.
