Plans to raise the retirement age have led to widespread protests in France. Police reportedly used tear gas against protesters in Paris.
18:58•Updated 19:26
On Thursday, thousands of people demonstrated in Paris against raising the retirement age, reports AFP news agency.
According to local trade unions, there would have been 800,000 people on the city streets, but the real numbers are likely to be considerably more moderate.
Reuters reports that the protests were mostly peaceful. However, some of the protesters are said to have thrown stones, shot fireworks at the authorities and set fire to garbage cans, to which the police have responded by using tear gas, according to AFP.
Earlier in the day, protesters also blocked the railways leading to the Gare de Lyon station in Paris, causing traffic delays.
In addition to demonstrations, the raising of the retirement age has been opposed with extensive strikes.
The garbage haulers’ strike in particular has received attention, when pictures of huge piles of garbage on the streets of France have spread in the media. Waste haulers who have been on strike for more than two weeks have allowed the streets to be filled with garbage, which, for example, Le Monde by (you switch to another service) is a tangible indication of the hard work they do.
Strikes cause disruptions in numerous other sectors as well. AFP reports, for example, about the fuel shortage threatening planes landing at Paris airports, which has been caused by strikes in the transportation industry and refineries.
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 passed through the parliament.
This has led to heavy criticism of the president and two no-confidence votes, which Macron’s government cleared in a jiffy 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.
Source: AFP, Reuters