In France, the unions have once more called for strikes and rallies this Tuesday once morest President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial pension reform. The authorities expected around 650,000 to 900,000 participants for the tenth day of nationwide protests. Significantly greater participation by pupils and students was also expected.
The protests, which have been peaceful for weeks, have recently been overshadowed by massive violence and clashes. In Paris, the police asked owners to close their shops along the demonstration route.
The protests are directed once morest the gradual increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. With the reform, the middle government wants to close an imminent gap in the pension fund. The dispute aggravated because the government pushed the text without a vote by the National Assembly. A week ago, two motions of no confidence in the government failed. The reform has thus been passed. It will now be reviewed by the Constitutional Council. Macron wants the reform to come into force by the end of the year.
Despite the ongoing protests, the government in Paris is not yet in sight. Macron discussed the situation with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and the heads of the governing parties on Monday. Macron did not want to put the reform to the test, media reports later quoted participants. Macron was quoted as saying that the hand to the unions remains outstretched to advise on other aspects of the world of work. Meanwhile, Macron and the government are meeting for the cabinet meeting on Tuesday instead of the usual Wednesday. The pension dispute should be an issue once more.
Because of the planned protests, France recently saw itself forced to cancel a planned state visit by British King Charles III. to cancel.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on Monday evening that 13,000 police officers will be mobilized nationwide for Tuesday. 5,500 of the officers are said to be on duty in Paris. These are unprecedented security measures in the face of abuse and violence in the previous protests. Around 1,000 left-wing extremists known to the police, some of them from abroad, would possibly mix with the demonstrators in Paris and other major cities on Tuesday, Darmanin said. The minister called on the demonstrators to distance themselves from violent criminals.
After allegations of police violence during the recent pension protests, 17 investigations have been launched once morest civil servants, the interior minister said. He called on the police this Tuesday not to respond to any provocation during the protests and defended the officers once morest blanket allegations. Also in the ranks of the police there are quite a few once morest the pension reform.
