Angry protesters lit small fires and clashed with police in riot gear at the Place de la Concorde in central Paris on Thursday after President Emmanuel Macron approved a bill to reform pensions of yourself without voting.
Several thousand people spontaneously gathered there earlier in the day, after the government’s decision was announced, to protest across the Seine from the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament.
While the gathering had been peaceful throughout the afternoon, the situation turned more violent as night fell in the French capital and police moved in to clear the Place de la Concorde, a large Parisian square with radio stations. Famous memorial in the middle, not far from luxury hotels, the Tuileries garden and the US Embassy.
Masked protesters threw pebbles ripped from the sidewalk at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons as they slowly pushed the dwindling crowd into the surrounding streets. Some protesters have set fire to wooden construction fences and piles of uncollected garbage in many parts of Paris over the past week due to an ongoing strike by garbage collectors.
The scene at the Place de la Concorde at the start of the day was much more cheerful, but also seemed to show how the next phase of the battle could lackluster for opponents of President Emmanuel’s pension overhaul. Macron.
Thousands of protesters, along with a number of left-wing lawmakers, gathered in the square, at the heart of a giant traffic circle in the heart of the French capital. But the crowds were disorganized: Some tried to motivate a march at the nearby Parliament, to no avail, while others chanted slogans or just stood by.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the famous leftist politician, comes and goes quickly.
Hours after Mr Macron decided to pass a plan to raise the retirement age without a vote in Parliament, many in the crowd expressed anger and vowed to continue to fight against a measure that has not yet been approved. they see as eroding a beloved part of French society. safety net.
Union leaders said earlier on Thursday that they would soon call for more protests, trying to expand what already exists. eight nationwide mobilizations against the pension scheme in the past two months.
With the apparent absence of organization, it is unclear whether the protests will develop into the kind of uncontrollable social unrest that France has sometimes experienced – such as Gold Vest Movement 2018 and 2019 – or will fart.
But anger among opponents of the pension plan is growing. In the square, where union flags and balloons were flying and music played over loudspeakers, many said they were committed to continuing to oppose the plan – and against a government they see as blatant. despise them.
“We will be doing spontaneous protests all over France,” said Isabelle Mollaret, 47, a children’s librarian, who held up a sign that read: “Macron, you’re not you. owner.” She added, “We’ll fight him!”
A group of students chanted against Mr Macron, calling him “the president of business owners”. If students are deeply involved in the protest movement, it could be a bad sign for Mr. Macron’s government. In 2006, widespread student protests against a youth employment contract law forced the government to withdraw and repeal the law – exactly what the protesters were aiming for.
However, the feeling on the square was one of carnival, not one of angry protest. A woman gives chocolates. Students sing. A group of women from Attac, a French anti-globalization movement, known as the Roses, changed the lyrics of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” to reflect anti-Macron sentiment and led the crowd in a choreographed dance.
Lou Chesne, 36, an energy conservation researcher and one of the dancers, said: “We were relieved to know that the fight would continue.
He noted that the government was unable to gather enough votes in the Legislative Council to pass their legislation, and instead had to pass it with a special constitutional instrument.
“They are isolated,” Mr. Chesne said.
