Nearly a million French people have taken to the streets today to demonstrate against plans to raise the retirement age. Massive protest marches were held in Paris, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Nantes and other cities.
The government of French President Macron wants, among other things, to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Polls show that the majority of the population is against reforming the pension system. There have been protests and strikes in France for weeks to stop this. In addition, many young people participated in the demonstrations today.
Many people also demonstrated in Paris:
The demonstrations were uneasy in some places. For example, in central Paris, a car and several trash cans were set on fire when police tried to disperse demonstrators with tear gas. Paris police reported that eight people were arrested for crimes including possession of weapons and vandalism.
nationwide strike
The unions also declared March 7 as the day of the nationwide strike. They want to completely paralyze France if the government doesn’t waive their pension insurance.
Despite much resistance, President Macron sticks to his reform proposals. These are necessary for the pension system to remain operational. He also points out that employees in neighboring countries retired years later than the French.
When Macron took office in 2017, he had already announced that he wanted to reform the pension system. He repeated this when he was re-elected in April 2022.
Source: NOS
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
