Projectiles and rubbish bins on fire: France gripped by new wave of pension protests
The protests against French president Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms have intensified. More than 740,000 protesters joined 240 rallies across the country on Tuesday. Many clashed with the police, hurling rocks and bottles at them
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Fresh clashes erupted in France Tuesday between protesters and police as tens of thousands took to the streets to show their anger against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform that has sparked a major domestic crisis. AP
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The day of nationwide protests and strikes called by unions was the tenth since mid-January against the law, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. AP
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The movement has turned into a major challenge to Macron who won a second term in elections last year and presents the biggest crisis of his second mandate. An eleventh day of protest action has now been scheduled by unions for April 6. AP
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Some 13,000 police deployed nationwide on Tuesday after last Thursday saw the most violent clashes yet between protesters and security forces. French police have been accused of using excessive force – both by protesters and rights bodies – and this has further fuelled the anger of demonstrators. AP
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In eastern Paris, police fired tear gas and launched a charge after some protesters, dressed in black with their faces covered, raided a grocery store and started a fire as the march closed in on Place de la Nation. AP
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Police said at least 27 people were arrested in the capital by the afternoon and that they had been targeted by protesters throwing stones and bottles. In the western city of Nantes, protesters threw projectiles at security forces who fired back tear gas, an AFP reporter said. A bank was set on fire as were rubbish bins around the city. AP
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Protesters delayed trains at Gare de Lyon, one of the busiest stations in Paris, walking on the rails and lighting flares in what they called a show of solidarity for a railway staffer who lost an eye in a previous protest. AP
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Police deployed water cannons in the southeastern city of Lyon and tear gas in the northern city of Lille after protesters caused damage including smashing a bus stop. AP
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Rubbish collectors in Paris are from Wednesday suspending a three-week strike that has seen thousands of tonnes of garbage accumulate in the capital, the CGT union said. But it said the move was to allow workers’ coordination to “go on strike again even more strongly” as fewer workers were now striking. AP
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Nearly two weeks after Macron forced the new pensions law through parliament using a special provision, unions have vowed no let-up in mass protests to get the government to back down. AP
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