Flames erupt in Paris in second night of pension protests over France’s retirement age
FLAMES erupt in Paris in a second night of riots over raising France’s retirement age from 62 to 64.
The capital saw more protests yesterday against the bitterly contested pension reform rammed through by President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
Paris saw more protests against the bitterly contested pension reformsRexFrench police used tear gas and made more than 80 arrests after protestors set alight anything from bus stops to wheelie binsRex
Police used tear gas and made more than 80 arrests at Saturday’s 4,000-strong demo as bins were set on fire and bus stops destroyed.
Some individual lawmakers were targeted, with Eric Ciotti — chief of the conservative Republicans party expected not to back the no-confidence motions — finding early Sunday that his constituency office had been pelted with rocks overnight.
“The killers who did this want to put pressure on my vote on Monday,” Ciotti wrote on Twitter, posting pictures showing smashed windows and threatening graffiti.
15 more protestors were held in Lyon after police said “groups of violent individuals” triggered clashes.
Other demonstrations in cities around France passed off peacefully, with hundreds turning out in the Mediterranean port city Marseille.
“What do we have left apart from continuing to demonstrate?” said Romain Morizot, a 33-year-old telecoms engineer, at the Marseille protest.
After the government used a constitutional provision to bypass a parliamentary vote on pension reform, “now that will stoke social tensions everywhere,” Morizot added.
“We’ll keep going, we don’t have a choice”.
Away from the streets of major cities, the hard-left CGT union said Saturday that workers would shut down France’s largest oil refinery in Normandy, warning that two more could follow on Monday.
So far, strikers had only prevented fuel deliveries from leaving refineries but not completely halted operations.
Industrial action has also halted rubbish collection in much of Paris, with around 10,000 tonnes of waste now on the streets as the government forces some binmen back to work.
A ninth day of wider strikes and protests is planned for Thursday.
