FRENCH PROTESTERS TAKE TO STREETS OVER PENSIONS.
PARIS • Police fired tear gas at protesters in the centre of Paris on Thursday and public transport ground to a near-halt in one of the biggest strikes in France for decades, aimed at forcing President Emmanuel Macron to ditch a planned reform of pensions.
The strike pits Macron, a 41-year-old former investment banker who came to power in 2017 on a promise to open up France’s highly regulated economy, against powerful trade unions who say he is set on dismantling worker protections.
The outcome depends on who blinks first — the unions who risk losing public support if the disruption goes on for too long, or the government which fears voters could side with the unions and blame officials for the standoff.
“People can work around it today and tomorrow, but next week people may get annoyed,” said 56-year-old café owner Isabelle Guibal.
Rail workers voted to extend their strike through Friday, while labour unions at the Paris bus and metro operator RATP said their walkout would continue until Monday.
Trade unions achieved their initial objective on Thursday, as workers at transport enterprises, schools and hospitals across France joined the strike. In Paris, commuters had to dust off old bicycles, rely on car pooling apps, or just stay at home. The Eiffel Tower had to close to visitors.
On Thursday afternoon, tens of thousands of union members marched through the centre of the capital in a show of force.
Trouble erupted away from the main protest when people in masks and dressed in black ransacked a bus stop near the Place de la Republique, ripped up street furniture, smashed shop windows and threw fireworks at police.
Police in riot gear responded by firing tear gas, Reuters witnesses said. Nearby, police used truncheons to defend themselves from black-clad protesters who rushed at them. Prosecutors said 57 people were detained.
Macron wants to simplify France’s unwieldy pension system, which comprises more than 40 different plans, many with different retirement ages and benefits. Rail workers, mariners and Paris Opera House ballet dancers can retire up to a decade earlier than average.
Pension reform — on which polls show French people evenly split — is fraught with risk for him as it chips away at social protections many see as the heart of their national identity.
Past attempts have ended badly for authorities. Former president Jacques Chirac’s conservative government in 1995 caved into union demands after weeks of crippling protests.