French protests reach climax ahead of ruling on Macron’s controversial pension reform plan

· World News · By ReportWire
French protests reach climax ahead of ruling on Macron’s controversial pension reform plan

It was almost a last chance to get their voices heard ahead of a critical ruling on France’s pension reforms.

Across France, nearly 400,000 took to the streets, according to the interior ministry.

Unions dispute that, putting the figure at 1.5 million.

Amongst them was a 68-year-old man called Jean-Pierre who used to work in cinema and who told us he’d enjoyed the benefits of retiring at 62.

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Protesters gather at Place de la Bastille in Paris. Pic: AP

Efforts by the French government to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 won’t affect him – but he’s here to show solidarity and tell those in their youth that this is a cause worth fighting for.

A 33-year-old beautician called Manon though tells us there’s more to all this.

It’s the way President Macron has gone about trying to push the reforms through that really rankles.

Without an absolute majority in parliament, he’s deployed a mechanism called Article 49.3 to bypass the National Assembly.

The Constitutional Council will decide if he’s allowed to do that.

The protesters say it’s not only the prospect of working longer in life which is driving them on to the streets. Ahead of that decision, there’s almost a crescendo to protests which began in mid-January crippling the country.

Inevitably things turned violent again – there’s a pattern to how this has rolled out over the last 12 weeks.

Protesters march during a demonstration Thursday, April 13, 2023 in Lille, northern France. Protesters opposed to President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular plan to raise the retirement age in France marched Thursday in cities and towns around France in a final show of anger before a decision on whether the measure meets constitutional standards. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)
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Pic: AP
People react amid tear gas during clashes at a demonstration as protesters gather on Place de la Bastille in Paris

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The unions and ordinary workers are loud and angry as they traipse the streets in a march which winds through iconic landmarks.

Then at the end, the hardcore of demonstrators – the so-called ‘Black Bloc’ – appears to take over and take on the riot police.

Riot police officers charge youths during a demonstration, Thursday, April 13, 2023 in Paris. Protesters opposed to President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular plan to raise the retirement age in France marched Thursday in cities and towns around France in a final show of anger before a decision by the Constitutional Council on whether the measure meets constitutional standards. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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Pic: AP
Riot police officers take position during a demonstration, Thursday, April 13, 2023 in Paris. Protesters opposed to President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular plan to raise the retirement age in France marched Thursday in cities and towns around France in a final show of anger before a decision by the Constitutional Council on whether the measure meets constitutional standards. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
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Pic: AP

What happens next is almost like choreographed theatre. The protesters throw missiles like rocks and bottles and the police push forward to repel them.

After sporadic clashes for hours, it’s the last stand of the day taken outside the new Opera House – aptly in the Place de la Bastille which was the backdrop to the French Revolution.

As night fell things quietened down. With such a significant decision expected on Friday it may well be the calm before the storm.

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