The World Briefly

March 24, 2023

Marianne’s Fury

France

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Strikes and protests hit France Thursday for the ninth consecutive day, disrupting travel and schools, as more than a million people demonstrated against changes to the pension system pushed through by President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week, the Associated Press reported.

In Paris and elsewhere, police fired tear gas and used stun guns and water cannons as some demonstrations grew violent, Reuters reported. Groups of “Black Bloc” anarchists smashed shop windows, demolished street furniture and ransacked a McDonald’s restaurant.

Near Toulouse in the south, burning piles of debris blocked traffic, while protesters cut off access to parts of Charles De Gaulle Airport that serves Paris even as some workers walked off the job. Meanwhile, electricity output was cut, refinery blockages continued and the civil aviation authority said flight services would be reduced over the weekend.

Protests and strikes have been held almost weekly for more than a month but have become more violent over the past week.

The disruption and protests followed a televised address by Macron on Wednesday in which he struck a defiant tone, and said the reform was necessary to preserve the pension system into the future as people live longer and the number of pensioners increases.

“Do you think I enjoy doing this? No,” he said. “But the longer we wait the worse the situation will get.”

The measure will raise the retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64, and the number of years a worker must pay into the system to receive a full pension will rise in 2027 from 42 to 43 years.

Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers and, according to polls, a majority of the public oppose the reforms, CNBC reported. Unions say the change hits the poorest-paid workers and women the hardest.

Besides the reform, Macron has ignited fierce anger over his use of a special constitutional measure to pass the bill through the lower house of parliament without a majority vote, with many questioning his commitment to democracy.

Macron also acknowledged people had a right to voice their opposition and that there was anger over businesses making record profits while some people were being asked to work for longer.

This story originally appeared in the March 24, 2023 newsletter, When Hate Comes To Town.