Police clashed with over a million demonstrators opposed to President Macron’s pension reform.
French authorities struggled on Thursday to suppress the protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform. Over a million demonstrators took to the streets across the country in what some security sources described as an “insurrection” against the government in Paris.
Tens of thousands of workers went on strike and protesters blocked public transportation, schools and oil refineries. Attempting to break up the protests, police used tear gas, water cannons, flash-bangs and batons. Videos making rounds on social media showed heavily armored officers clubbing unarmed demonstrators.
La police procède à de nombreuses charges et matraque les manifestants dans le cortège parisien.#manif23mars #reformedeseetraites pic.twitter.com/CfBHJ4G4pz
— Amar Taoualit (@TaoualitAmar) March 23, 2023
Other videos showed barricades burning in the streets of Paris. The entrance to the city hall in Bordeaux, the regional capital of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, was set ablaze at one point.
At least one unit of firefighters switched sides and joined the protesters. Multiple eyewitnesses described the situation as “out of control.”
“It’s war in Paris, no time to post, take care of yourself,” tweeted one independent media outlet.
JUST IN: Protests in France are NOT LETTING UP, videos from Paris emerge showing what looks like a war zone..
WHY IS THE MEDIA HIDING CIVIL UNREST?
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) March 23, 2023
Almost 150 police officers and gendarmes have been injured, Interior Minister Garald Darmanin said on Thursday evening, calling this “absolutely unacceptable” and demanding harsh punishment for the attackers.
Darmanin also told reporters that 172 people were detained for questioning about the “looting and arson” in Paris, and that 190 fires had been set in the French capital, 50 of which were still burning as of 10 pm local time.
The interior minister blamed the “extreme left” and “black bloc” anarchists for the worst of the violence.
The police estimated more than a million protesters were in the streets.
The outpouring of popular discontent was triggered by President Macron’s announcement that the retirement age will be raised from 62 to 64, starting next year. Macron insisted that the change was necessary, otherwise the pension system would go bankrupt within the next several years.
The Elysee Palace imposed the change without consulting lawmakers, who have been trying to deal with the controversial proposal since January. Protesters responded by calling on Macron to resign.
Appearing on TV on Wednesday, Macron said his only mistake was “failing to convince people” of the decision’s merits, but insisted he would not back down, even if that meant having to “shoulder unpopularity.”
While there is a constitutionally protected right to protest, Macron said, if the malcontents use violence, “then that is no longer democracy.”
Though heavily criticized due to the harsh coronavirus lockdowns and mandates, Macron easily won re-election in 2022, eventually defeating Marine Le Pen by a 17-point margin. The runoff election saw the lowest turnout since 1969.
A million protesting about pensions can’t be all anarchists.
It’s actually 9 million. The streets of Paris are an absolute disaster. Cars are burning everywhere. The whole thing has escalated. An inferno.
Stop stealing elections and openly replacing your people, and your people might stop burning your buildings down!
Murdering macaroon should resign aong wih trudon’t and bribden hypocrit corrupt idiots
My feeling is that this is not really about pensions, but the pensions age issue that is really the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back”. People are realizing that we have leaders that do not represent us and do not listen to us, and they are really only slave masters to us: Our leaders represent the WEF (Claus Schwab), George Soros, the bankers, big pharma, big business. We, the people, are just “in the way”. All they want from us is our taxes and our vote, and who knows if our votes even count!
People have seen the lockdowns, the coerced vaccines, 15-minute cities (not France as far as I know, but China and the UK), and now raising the pension age so eventually it would be so old you would never get a pension which is probably the idea.
People are waking up and getting angry at the manipulation and the dictates from leaders.
Of course and this has been a long time coming, it’s not just from the extreme left or the extreme right or so called anarchists. Firefighters are joining in! Eventeports of Police turning against the will of the govt.
Time for the stupid idiot Macron to go.
Dead right plenty of money to prop up ridiculous wars, take refugees, burn down Notre Dames, Covid lockdowns. Always thought if any one was going to fight back it’d be in France. They’ve done it before.
Long ago, macrom who deems himself ” extremely intelligent” sold his soul to the rothchilds’ bankers. And sold also most of the french industrials assets to foreign powers.
So the french are not only angry about the pensions, but about much more
Not only there are riots in france, but in many european countries there are also strikes at the moment. Low wages and galloping inflation a.o. problems; . Level of primary education never so low, national health services in disarray, criminality on the rise, while justice dpt does nothing or very little. Millions of immigrants coming to europe also due to( US )wars in middel east and ukraine, but also the the NGO’s financed by Soros to help sub sahara africans cross the mediterranee….
There seems to be taxpayer ” money” to finance war. Not to help own impoverished european populations.
The EU has had its time. The life of the euro might come soon to an end
No one can protest like the French that’s for sure. I would have to agree that the protest is not just about the rise of the pension age. It is about the lockdowns, it is about the fake Covid response. It is about the forced injections of the mRNA. The people I’ve had enough. They have had enough of our respective governments. They have had enough of this nonsense. They want their nation as we do ours, the acknowledgement of harm done and the truth about the widely known agenda for world government. This destructiot of our economies and way of life is completely unacceptable. The government are public servants. Now get on and serve us. Respect is a two way street. we are completely wide-awake to prime minister Hipkins who was at the top of the round table orchestrating the same rubbish leadership . October is coming and I will be exercising my right with an orange pen.
The Gillet Jeunes were before the Covid bullshit. That was five years ago. So yep long time coming.
9 million protestors. Not 1 million.
So that’s out of control X 9
It’s gilet jaune. I don’t think a young razor blade has the same effect just sounds stupid.