Social and union protests against the retirement age increase: The case of the French monarch and the Queen Consort in Paris on his trip to Bordeaux

The British monarch and Queen Consort were due to travel to France on Sunday for a trip that would see them visit Paris and the southwestern city of Bordeaux, however a decision to postpone the visit was made after demonstrations turned violent in some areas on Thursday.

Building on the strong turnout, unions swiftly called for new protests and strikes on Tuesday when the British king is scheduled to visit Bordeaux on the second day of his trip to France. The heavy wooden door of the elegant Bordeaux City Hall was set afire and quickly destroyed Thursday evening by a members of an unauthorized demonstration, the Sud Ouest newspaper said.

The Interior Ministry said that the march in Paris drew 119,000 people, which was a new record for the capital. Polls say most French oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s bill to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, which he says is necessary to keep the system afloat.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, visiting police headquarters Thursday night as fires still burned in some Paris neighborhoods, gave assurance that security “poses no problem” and the British monarch will be “welcomed and welcomed well.”

“There are troublemakers, often extreme left, who want to take down the state and kill police and ultimately take over the institutions,” the minister said.

The demonstrations were held a day after Macron further angered his critics by standing strong on the retirement bill that his government forced through parliament without a vote.

“While the (president) tries to turn the page, this social and union movement … confirms the determination of the world of workers and youth to obtain the withdrawal of the reform,” the eight unions organizing protests said in a statement. There are new nationwide strikes and protests Tuesday.

More than 1 million demonstrations across France against pension reforms: the masked-extremists’ strike on the Parisian protests

At least two fast food restaurants and a supermarket were attacked by black-clad masked groups who battled police on the streets of Paris.

Police used tear gas and charged at rioters multiple times after being hit with objects and fireworks. A haze of tear gas fumes covered part of the Place de l’Opera, where demonstrators converged at the march’s end. Darmanin said radicals numbered some 1,500.

In Rennes, an administrative building was set on a fire and the courtyard of the police station in Lyon was attacked, as well as in the western cities of Nantes and Lorient.

A new law is necessary to keep retirement funds funded, according to an interview by the head of the retirement funds. Opponents proposed other solutions, including higher taxes on the wealthy or companies, which Macron says would hurt the economy. He insisted the government’s bill to raise the retirement age must be implemented by the end of the year.

“We are trying to say before the law is enacted … that we have to find a way out and we continue to say that the way out is the withdrawal of the law,” the chief of the moderate CFDT trade union, Laurent Berger, told The Associated Press.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/24/1165759889/more-than-1-million-demonstrate-across-france-against-pension-reforms

Strikes at Paris’ Gare de Lyon and Pantin stations during the ‘Fast Day of the New Paris”

High-speed and regional trains, the Paris metro, and public transportation systems were disrupted. About 30% of flights at Paris Orly Airport were canceled.

The Education Ministry said in a statement that about 24% of teachers walked off the job in primary and middle schools on Thursday, and 15% in high schools.

At Paris’ Gare de Lyon train station, several hundred strikers walked on railway tracks to prevent trains from moving, brandishing flares and chanting “and we will go, and we will go until withdrawal” and “Macron, go away.”

“This year perhaps maybe our holidays won’t be so great,” said Maxime Monin, 46, who stressed that employees like himself, who work in public transport, are not paid on strike days. “But I think it’s worth the sacrifice.”

In the northern suburbs of Paris, several dozen union members blocked a bus depot in Pantin, preventing about 200 vehicles from getting out during rush hour.