France recorded, for the second consecutive day, spontaneous protests in large cities, against the bill that increases the retirement age from 62 to 64 years, with at least 60 demonstrators being arrested in Paris.
as in Last daythousands of people, many of them young people, demonstrated in the emblematic Place de la Concorde (Place de la Concorde, in French), without the event having been promoted by a party or union.
In addition to 61 arrests, five police officers were injured in the protests in the French capital, reported the Efe agency.
During the civil mobilization, a large bonfire was made, where images were burned with President Emmanuel Macron, who they accuse of “turning his back” on democracy by approving the reform without a vote in the National Assembly.
The protest ended with the intervention of riot police, who surrounded the entire square with agents.
Other cities such as Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lyon and Strasbourg also registered demonstrations.
During the day, striking sanitation workers also blocked a rubbish collection station that houses Europe’s largest incinerator, while university students walked out of classrooms to join strikes that affected many professional sectors.
On Thursday, shortly after the controversial reform was approved, tensions were even higher as security forces detained hundreds of demonstrators, most of them in Paris.
The protests resulted in several cars and street furniture being set on fire.
Unions that organized strikes and marches against raising the retirement age said more rallies and demonstrations were scheduled for the next few days.
Among the most controversial articles of this new law is the increase in the retirement age to 64 years or 43 years of discounts, but also the end of the existing special regimes for workers in transport, energy or even the Bank of France, as well as the adoption of a special contract to promote the employment of people over 60 years of age.
Macron has made changes to the reform laws a top priority in his second term, arguing that these changes are essential to make the French economy more competitive and avoid the failure of the social security system.
If a possible motion of censure against the Government is approved in the National Assembly, the proposed legislative change is in question and the Government will be forced to resign, which has not happened since 1962.
In this scenario, Macron may choose to nominate Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne again, who will be able to choose a new government.
However, Macron’s alliance of center parties has a majority in the National Assembly, making it difficult to pass a no-confidence motion.
