Published: Just now
France’s protesters are not backing down – but neither is President Emmanuel Macron.
On Thursday, protesters will once again gather against the government’s controversial reform.
Among other places, in Nantes, Marseille and the capital Paris, angry crowds have gathered in the streets.
On Wednesday, pest control officers in Paris hurled emaciated rat carcasses at the city’s city hall in what was described as one of the more shocking displays of French anger at pension reform.
In mid-March, Macron’s government chose to bypass the country’s National Assembly and push the law through on its own initiative, despite the lack of support. Both before and after the decision, nationwide and sometimes violent protests have raged in France.
The most recent talks between the government and the French unions were deadlocked. Hundreds of thousands of French are expected to take to the streets on Thursday in response to the stalemate.
The law means, among other things, that the retirement age must be raised from 62 to 64 years.