A hotly contested proposal to raise the retirement age for the French president from 62 to 64 has been met with violent demonstrations since the beginning of the year.
To Lisa Holland, Sky Correspondent, Paris
Friday 14 April 2023 02:47 UK
It was close to the last chance to have their voices heard before a crucial ruling on France’s pension reform.
Around 400,000 people took to the streets across France, according to the interior ministry.
The union disputes this, putting the figure at 1.5 million.
Among them was a 68-year-old man named Jean-Pierre, who once worked in the film industry, and told us he is enjoying the benefits of retiring at 62.
Efforts of the French government raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 It doesn’t affect him, but he’s here in Paris to show solidarity and tell young people that this is a cause worth fighting for.
But a 33-year-old hairdresser called Manon says there’s more to this.
that’s the way President Emmanuel Macron You’ve been trying to push for really nasty reforms.
If there is no absolute majority in parliament, He deployed a mechanism called Article 49.3 Bypass the parliament.
The Constitutional Council will decide if he is allowed to do so.
Protesters say it’s not just the prospect of a long working life that’s driving them to the streets. Ahead of that decision, protests to cripple the country, which began in mid-January, are in full swing.
Inevitably things turned violent again – there’s a pattern in how this has played out over the past 12 weeks.
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Unions and common workers are loud and angry as they roam the streets in meandering processions past iconic landmarks.
And finally, a hardcore group of demonstrators, the so-called “black bloc,” appear to take over and fight the riot police.
What happens next is like a choreographed play. Protesters throw missiles like rocks and bottles, and police step forward to repel them.
After hours of sporadic clashes, it was the final stand of the day outside the new opera house, on Place de la Bastille, the setting for the French Revolution.
When night fell, things calmed down. With such important decisions scheduled for Friday, it may be the calm before the storm.
