On the way from the Bastille to the opera, the main east-west axis crossing the north of the city, the windows of shops, banks and businesses were barricaded early in the morning, and along the roads there were vans full of police and gendarmes. The march to Nantes, which began at noon, is strewn with incidents. The atmosphere at the Petite Hollande car park is very tense. In front of the Figaro correspondent, two demonstrators were arrested. According to the prefecture, 25,000 people are taking part in the march.
Protesters were angered by Macron’s televised speech on Wednesday, in which he said the protests were “legitimate” but would not lead to the repeal of a controversial pensions law that not only raises the official retirement age retirement, but also obliges workers to contribute longer in retirement. retirement system. The French president has been accused of showing “contempt and arrogance” towards those who oppose the changes that became the cornerstone of his campaign last year. In his 30-minute TV interview on Wednesday, Macron ruled out dissolving parliament, reshuffling his centrist government and resigning his prime minister, Elisabeth Bourne, as demanded by the opposition, the Guardian reported.
Before the start of the Paris demonstration, the secretary general of the French Communist Party (PCF), Fabien Roussel, analyzed the hardening of the social movement and blamed the President of the Republic for it. “In a few days, we went from debates on pensions to violence, to peaceful demonstrations with truncheons. It is extremely serious, and the President of the Republic is behaving like a robber in the Republic”, declared the leader of the French Communists. Marie Buisson, of the powerful General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the main national union, told France Info radio that the protesters were “resolved”. “Because the law was passed by force, there is anger, she said. Our objective is to put as many people as possible out of work”. According to the Civil Service Ministry, 15,500 employees were on strike in the state civil service as of noon. The underground storage strikers of Storengy, a subsidiary of the energy company Engie, who have been blocking gas discharges into the network for several days at several sites, intend to block the filling of storage for next winter, reports AFP citing sources close to the question.
Massive protests and strikes on Thursday led to severe transport disruptions, as well as the cancellation of flights at airports. Up to 30% of scheduled flights from Orly, south of Paris, were canceled on Friday and Saturday, and up to 20% of flights from Marseille, Bordeaux and Lyon were also cancelled. Protesters blocked Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle airport north of Paris on Thursday morning. At the same time, they erected barricades on the road to the airport and set tires on fire.
On Thursday, dozens of high schools and universities became the scene of demonstrations against pension reform across France, called by various youth organizations, notes AFP. Schools are closed and colleges are confined throughout France, notably in Paris, Rouen, Marseille and Toulouse.
Social media is full of videos of cars on fire and rubbish bags set on fire in the quiet streets of the French capital.
