More than 3,500 people took to the streets in Paris last night, according to the police. After riots and fires on the streets, 46 people were arrested in the French capital. This is what happened in Paris:
But there were also massive protests elsewhere in France for the umpteenth day in a row. In Grenoble, a city in the Alps in the southeast of the country, 5,000 people took to the streets. In Nantes and Rennes, in the northwest of the country: 10,000 and 4,000 demonstrators.
Hundreds of people were also arrested in mass demonstrations across the country on Monday evening.
Why so angry?
Thousands of French people have been demonstrating for days in cities across the country. People are furious about pension reforms: the raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64 is particularly distasteful to them. President Emmanuel Macron says the reforms are necessary because the current system is too expensive and complicated.
The government passed the new pension legislation last week without a vote in parliament. This was done by means of an article in the constitution that allowed parliament to be sidelined.
After that action by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, two motions of no confidence were submitted against her government at the beginning of this week. In the end, they just didn’t make it: a motion was only nine votes short. If any of the motions had been passed, the French government would have had to resign.
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a television interview for later today. At 13:00 he will speak to TF1 to explain the pension reforms.
‘Constitution good thing’
But last night, the president was already talking to ministers and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who tricked pension legislation past parliament. The French newspaper Le Monde reported last night what would have been said during that meeting. Macron would have been “concerned” about the anger of the French, which he wants to listen to.
“But the crowd has no right to win against their democratically elected representatives,” Macron said of the protests. “It is a good thing to use the constitution if we want to carry out reform,” the president also said. He was referring to the implementation of pension legislation without having parliament vote. “Without a majority, there was no alternative,” Macron said.
Macron’s statements angered protesters in Paris, who set fire to placards bearing the Article in the Constitution (49.3).
‘All emergency exits closed’
Macron’s political opponents also reacted critically to his statements. “He started a fire and then closed all emergency exits,” said Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who called on all French people to protest against the government.
Marine Le Pen also reacted angrily and said that Macron is taking the country to the brink with his plans. “I’m not going to help put out a fire caused by the government for a second time,” said Le Pen. She meant the last time France demonstrated en masse, with yellow vests.
