Paris/Barcelona: Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in France on Thursday to protest a deeply unpopular pensions overhaul, with some demonstrators clashing with police in Paris, as strikes disrupted public transport, schools and much of the civil service.
The changes presented by President Emmanuel Macron’s government last week would raise the retirement age for most people from 62 to 64 and increase the years of contributions required for a full pension.
France’s trade unions called for a mass mobilisation, the first time they have united since 12 years ago, when the retirement age was hiked from 60 to 62.
Around 400,000 people marched in the capital against President Macron’s plan to extend the retirement age, and over 2 million in all of France, according to the hard-left CGT union. Police said earlier they had prepared for 550,000 to 750,000 protesters in all of France, including up to 80,000 in the capital.
Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said on Wednesday that 10,000 police would be on alert, more than a third of them in the capital.
Many parents were looking after their children as some 40% of primary school teachers and more than 30% of educators in the secondary system took part in the strike, according to official estimates. Unions put participation much higher, at 70% and 65% respectively.
Electricity output cut
Strikers at state-owned energy provider EDF said they had lowered electricity output by 7,000 megawatts, while grid operator RTE put the figure at 5,000 MW – enough to power two cities the size of Paris.
But the CGT union federation said the reduction would have “no impact on users”.
Philippe Martinez, head of the hard-left CGT union, told broadcaster Public Senat the planned pension reform “bundles together everyone’s dissatisfaction” with the government, and that the rare united front among worker representatives showed “the problem is very serious”.
“This will be a big day of mobilisation, especially with all the unions on the same page,” Martinez said.
Prez defends reform
President Macron said on Thursday he hoped nationwide protests gripping France over his controversial pension reform drive would take place without descending into violence. Speaking after a Franco-Spanish summit in Barcelona, Macron defended the proposed changes as “fair and responsible”.
But he said he hoped the demonstrations would take place “without excesses, violence or destruction”, insisting the deeply unpopular reform was “democratically proposed and approved”.
Trade route disrupted
Trucks were backed up along a motorway in northern France on Thursday after workers’ strike halted ferry crossings between Dover and Calais, a major sea route for trade between United Kingdom and the continent.
