In France, the protests against the controversial pension reform, which started out as peaceful, have escalated.
12:07•Updated 13:43
In France, the mostly peaceful demonstrations turned into violent clashes in several places yesterday Thursday.
For example, in Bordeaux, protesters set fire to the main entrance of the city hall. The fire was extinguished quickly. There is no further information about the suspected arsonist yet.
French interior minister by Gerald Darmanin according to 457 people were arrested and 441 police and other members of the security forces were injured in the protests against the pension reform on Thursday. Darmanin previously said that the majority of those arrested, especially in Paris, are young people who are known to belong to far-left groups.
French unions claim 3.5 million people took part in Thursday’s protests. The country’s authorities, on the other hand, estimated that there were slightly more than a million demonstrators on Thursday.
In Paris, rioting at McDonald’s
According to Darmanin, the biggest disturbances were seen in Paris, where around 900 fires were set during the demonstrations. According to the French Interior Ministry, 119,000 people participated in the demonstrations in the capital.
In Paris, masked protesters destroyed shop windows and park benches, among other things, and attacked a McDonald’s restaurant. The police tried to quell the rioting with tear gas and stun grenades.
The police also had to use tear gas in the cities of Nantes, Lorient and Lille. In the city of Rennes, the police reportedly used water cannons to quell the unrest.
Prime Minister of France Elisabeth Borne condemned the violence in Thursday’s demonstrations.
Borne wrote on Twitter that people have the right to express their opinions and make their differences clear. Instead, according to him, the violence and destruction seen now cannot be accepted.
French unions and the left have called Thursday’s protests a success.
The controversial pension reform has caused the French to take to the streets on nine different days since January. The country’s opposition guarantees that the demonstrations will not subside.
The controversial pension reform behind the protests
The reason behind the dissatisfaction is the French government’s decision to raise the retirement age by two years from 62 to 64.
President Emmanuel Macron led by the government failed to get the necessary support for the reform, so the law was forced through the lower house of the parliament without a separate vote.
This has led to heavy criticism of the president and two no-confidence votes, which Macron’s government narrowly escaped on Monday.
Amid strikes and protests, Macron has continued to defend his pension reform, saying it is not only in France’s public interest but necessary.
King Charles’ visit to France has been postponed
Buckingham Palace said today, Friday, that the British King Charles III won’t be visiting France from 26 to 29 March. The security of the visit has been a concern for some time in France due to the protests that sometimes turned into riots.
The decision to postpone was made after a telephone conversation between Macron and King Charles. The Élysée Palace, which serves as the official residence of the French president, says the visit has been postponed because the French trade unions are planning new demonstrations for next Tuesday.
Story corrected at 12:26 p.m.: The surname of the French interior minister is Darmanin, not Darman.
Story updated at 1:37 p.m.: Added information about the outcome of King Charles III’s visit.