Protests against pension reform law in France

According to a VNA correspondent in France, May 1st, International Workers' Day, a day to demonstrate the strength of the working class and working people in France, was quickly disrupted by violence in many major cities due to a wave of protests against the government 's pension reform. At least 291 extremists were arrested, 108 police officers were injured, including one officer who suffered severe burns.

People protested on a large scale against the Government's pension reform bill in Paris, France on April 13, 2023. Photo: THX/TTXVN

More than 782,000 people marched, including 112,000 in Paris, according to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior . According to an announcement from the CGT General Confederation of Labor, 2.3 million people participated in demonstrations across France on May 1 to celebrate International Workers' Day.

However, this was also the 13th day of a protest campaign led by unions against the government's pension reforms, so the peaceful marches quickly turned violent as tensions flared in central areas.

In Paris, Lyon, Nantes, the marching crowds quickly clashed with the police. Nantes was one of the top hotspots with 17,500 protesters. The drunkards immediately tried to fight the police, burning several luxury vehicles on public roads.

In front of the city hall and the Loire-Atlantique Provincial Council, numerous stones were thrown at the buildings and at the police, forcing them to use tear gas, stun grenades and soft bullets. Protesters used umbrellas to avoid police retaliation.

In Paris, 5,000 police and gendarmes were mobilized. Even heavy tear gas was not enough to stop the wave of radical protesters, who were ready to throw rocks at security forces and windows, smash and burn public property. The Paris administrative court even authorized the use of drones to monitor protests in the capital.

According to the announcement late on May 1 by the Ministry of the Interior, more than 300 riots took place across France, especially in Paris, Nantes and Angers. A total of 291 arrests were made, including 90 in Paris.

More than 2,000 extremists have also been identified. “108 police officers and gendarmes were injured in France and one policeman was seriously burned after being hit by a Molotov cocktail,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wrote on Twitter. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the “violence” on the sidelines of the May 1 protests was “unacceptable.”

Also on May 1, air traffic was severely disrupted: a quarter of flights were canceled at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport and a third at Orly, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC). The same happened at many airports in France, including Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes and Toulouse, while 25% of flights were canceled at Nice and Beauvais. Fortunately, there were no disruptions to the French rail system.

In 2022, the number of protesters on May 1 was only one-seventh of this year's, equivalent to 116,000 people, including 24,000 in Paris, and the violence did not occur at the same level as this year.

Source: VNA

Source link