Explained: How Emmanuel Macron’s presidency has been marred by protests

The fallout from the death of 17-year-old Nael in France continues. On Sunday, the grandmother of the slain teen, identified only as Nadia, pleaded with protesters to halt the violence. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron is slated to meet the heads of both houses of French parliament on Monday and mayors of 220 towns and cities affected by the protests on Tuesday. A French official said Macron also wants to start a detailed, longer-term assessment of the reasons that led to the unrest. But the presidency of Macron, who came to power in 2017, has been marred with protests from the outset. Let’s take a closer look: Right after election – May 2017 Macron, the youngest French leader since Napolean, vowed to bring the nation together after winning the 2017 presidential polls in May 2017. “A new chapter in our long history has opened this evening. I would like it to be one of hope and renewed confidence,” Macron said in his victory speech. “I will use all the energy I have to earn (the people’s) trust.”

But hundreds of protesters in Paris seemed unwilling to give him the benefit of the doubt.

According to Sky News, some demonstrators who took exception to Macron’s economic policies even clashed with police. “I felt it was important to get out on the first day and let Macron know that even though we cast a vote for him it wasn’t a happy vote,” Lauren, a young restaurant worker, told the outlet. “It was the less bad vote, but we are here and we will be watching what he does.” CGT trade union and SNCF join hands in 2018 In March 2018, thousands of civil workers including train drivers, teachers, nurses, air traffic controllers and other public sector staff took to the streets to protest Macron’s policies. As per The Guardian, this was the first time that civil servants and railway staff combined forces to take on Macron. While the vast majority of the 180 demonstrations that occurred across France were peaceful, Paris and Nantes saw skirmishes between police and protesters with security forces resorting to tear gas and water cannons. The far-left labour union CGT said at the time its goal was a “convergence des luttes” or “convergence of struggles” – a storm of public discontent where protests of different origins fuse into one widespread upheaval against government, something like in May 1968 or more recently at the end of 1995. As former SNCF rail operator François Rauch told Reuters: “We’re here against the government, which is only helping the rich.” “Discontent and worry are spreading very quickly,” added Jean-Marc Canon of UGFF-CGT, one of France’s largest civil servants’ unions. Macron at the time was already walking on eggshells after cutting wealth tax and housing aid and raising pensioner taxes. Those changes, the polls at the time said, cemented voter belief that Macron is bad for purchasing power and economic equality. Yellow Vests – 2018 Arguably the most high-profile protests against Macron kicked off in November 2018. According to Vox, the ‘Yellow Vests’ protests began on 17 November after French drivers led a 280,000-strong demonstration across the nation in the aftermath of Macron announcing a new gas tax. [caption id=“attachment_5725681” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Plainclothes police officers search yellow-vested protesters during an anti-government protest, in Paris, France. AP[/caption] The protests were named after the high-visibility vests all French drivers must keep in their cars for emergencies known as gilets jaunes – which the demonstrators donned. “Ask a Parisian — for him none of this is an issue, because he doesn’t need a car,” Marco Pavan, a truck and cab driver in a small town near the France-Switzerland border, told the Washington Post in 2018. “We live on the side of a mountain,” he continued.

There’s no bus or train to take us anywhere. We have to have a car.”

The movement, which began among provincial workers camped out at traffic circles, quickly spread to people across political, regional, social and generational divides angry at economic injustice and the way Macron was running France. At its height, a quarter of a million people marched around France, and polls suggested more than 80 per cent of French people supported the movement. Macron caved quickly to the demand of ending the fuel tax hike. He even offered 10 billion euros in tax cuts or other gestures for pensioners and workers. Pension protests in 2019 France in December 2019 saw one of its biggest strike in decades over pension reform – causing schools to shutter and transport chaos around the nation. This came after Macron announced his plan to simplify a system of 42 separate pension plans – including some which offer some of the world’s most generous benefits – into a single, points-based system. “A universal, points-based pay-as-you-go system will be better than the multitude of systems we have now,” then prime minister Edouard Philippe said. But the unions said Macron wanted to strip workers of hard-earned benefits and threatens their quality of life. According to BBC, around 800,000 demonstrated in over 100 cities.

The union CGT claimed 1.5 million people including 250,000 in Paris took to the streets.

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The Interior Ministry estimated that 339,000 people marched in France, including 31,000 in Paris. On 5 December, it put the figure at 806,000 nationwide, including 65,000 in Paris. Le Monde reported that 180,000 people took to streets across 30 areas in France and 250 demonstrations were held across the nation. “What we’ve got to do is shut the economy down,” union official Christian Grolier of the Force Ouvrière (Workers’ Force) told BBC. “People are spoiling for a fight.” [caption id=“attachment_12819322” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Jerome Rodrigues, one of the leading figures of the yellow vests movement, shows his eye after he was injured during a demonstration after 24 days of strike against French government’s pensions reform plans in Paris, France. Reuters[/caption] “Given the depth of discontent, there is a need to get more people on the streets,” Philippe Martinez, head of the hardline CGT union, told reporters before leading a march in Paris. Behind Martinez, protesters chanted “Macron we’re coming to get you” and waved banners reading “strike or die of hunger”. COVID-19 protests in 2021 In July 2021, thousands of people protested in Paris and other French cities against a mandatory coronavirus health pass for entry to a wide array of public venues. This came after France’s Parliament approved a new law that made vaccinations mandatory for health workers and extended the health pass requirement to bars, restaurants, trade shows, trains and hospitals. Visitors going to museums, cinemas or swimming pools were already being denied entry if they cannot produce the health pass showing they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have had a recent negative test.

The French government at the time was battling its fourth wave of COVID-19 infections.

An interior ministry official said 204,090 had demonstrated across France, including 14,250 in Paris alone. “We’re creating a segregated society and I think it is unbelievable to be doing this in the country of human rights,” said Anne, a teacher who was demonstrating in Paris. She declined to give her last name. “So I took to the streets; I have never protested before in my life. I think our freedom is in danger.” Around 3,000 police officers were deployed in the capital, with anti-riot officers striving to keep demonstrators on authorised routes. Protesters were also out in other cities like Marseille, Lyon, Montpelier, Nantes and Toulouse, shouting “Freedom!” and “No to the health pass!”. Pension reform protests – 2023 In April 2023, France was engulfed with protests after Macron signed his controversial pension reform – including headline change of raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 – into law. Bikes, e-scooters and garbage were set on fire in the capital overnight while protests rallying hundreds erupted in other cities, including Marseille and Toulouse. In the western city of Rennes, protesters set fire to the entrance of a police station and a conference centre. Paris police said 112 people had been arrested. In June, anti-pension reform protesters stormed the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympic Game as trade unions made a last-gasp attempt to pressure lawmakers into reversing President Emmanuel Macron’s raising of the retirement age. BFM TV broadcast images of several dozen hard-left CGT trade union militants briefly occupying the building in Aubervilliers in northern Paris. “There was no violence and no damage,” a Games spokesperson told Reuters. Sophie Binet, the secretary-general of the CGT, said her union would fight on.

“There’s a lot of anger but also fatigue,” Binet said, adding that strikers had felt their wallets pinched.

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Some protesters have threatened to disrupt next summer’s Olympics if Macron does not back down. Banners reading “No retirement, No Olympics” were visible in Paris. Lauren Berger, head of the reform-minded CFDT trade union, said the aim was now to turn anger into a “show of strength” in talks with the government on issues such as improving work conditions and purchasing power. “We need to prepare for what’s to come (after the summer),” said Jean-Luc Carbonari, a 60-year-old sewer works engineer. “We need to reverse the political balance of power.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.