French protesters occupy Black Rock’s Al Shula Restaurant

Information

by Sunyana Farbrov

April 6, 2023 | 2:14 p.m

A contemporary wave of unrest over pension reform swept Paris and different French cities on Thursday, as indignant demonstrators occupied the constructing of US-based funding agency BlackRock and set hearth to a preferred restaurant favored by President Emmanuel Macron.

Dozens of commerce union members poured into BlackRock’s Paris workplaces within the historic central constructing, setting off fireworks and chanting slogans directed on the firm’s pension fund.

“The federal government desires to do away with pensions, it desires to pressure folks to finance their retirement from non-public pension funds, however what we all know is that solely the wealthy can profit from such a setup,” mentioned protester Françoise Onique. College trainer.

BlackRock’s non permanent occupation got here on the eleventh day of nationwide strikes and demonstrations denouncing Macron’s plan to lift the retirement age from 62 to 64 in an obvious effort to stop France’s retirement system from collapsing.

Loudly chanting the favourite slogan of French anti-pension reform protesters, “On est la” (“We’re right here”), the demonstrators withdrew from the BlackRock constructing after about half-hour, leaving its foyer full of smoke from pyrotechnics.

One other monetary establishment that angered the protesters was a department of the Credit score Agricole financial institution, which noticed its home windows smashed earlier than police dispersed the mob’s trousers with tear gasoline.

Elsewhere within the French capital, protesters vented their anger on the Left Financial institution brasserie La Rotonde, the place Macron hosted a celebratory dinner throughout the 2017 presidential election.

Protesters pelted the restaurant with stones, set its awnings on hearth, and threw bottles and paint at policemen who arrived to quell the unrest.

A riot police officer was briefly knocked unconscious by a pebble within the melee.

Within the western metropolis of Reims, police fired tear gasoline at demonstrators who clashed with them and set hearth to trash cans whereas chanting “Strike, blockade, Macron go!”

Police additionally responded with tear gasoline in Lyon, the place a Nespresso espresso store was ransacked.

Pension reform, which has turn out to be the main focus of Macron’s turbulent second time period, has met widespread resistance, which intensified after a retirement age hike was pushed by the French parliament with out a vote.

Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne met union leaders on Wednesday to attempt to break the deadlock, however their talks stalled after simply an hour with out discovering an answer.

Protesters mentioned the one manner out of the disaster was to scrap the unpopular pension reform – an choice Bourne and Macron rejected.

“There isn’t a different answer than to withdraw reform,” Sophie Binet, the brand new chief of the hardline CGT union, mentioned in the beginning of the Paris rally.

Each the federal government and protesters are trying ahead to the Constituent Meeting – France’s highest constitutional authority – to ship its ruling on the pension invoice on April 14.

Constitutional specialists say the fee is unlikely to overturn the laws, which might take the wind out of the protests which have raged in France since January.

The newest knowledge means that the motion could also be shedding steam.

The CGT union confirmed that round 400,000 folks joined the protest in Paris on Thursday, down from 450,000 the earlier week.

Throughout France, yesterday of nationwide protest on March 28 drew smaller crowds than yesterday, with 740,000 participating in strikes and rallies, in line with the inside ministry.

Once more on March 7, 1.28 million French residents took half within the protests by blocking visitors, disrupting commerce and leaving their jobs.

with wire