French protests intensify in test for Macron; police bolster security amid warnings radicals seek ‘to destroy’
There were more than 13 thousand officers. Deployed throughout France Protests against pension reforms are intensifying in the run-up to President Emmanuel Macron’s test on Tuesday.
The Associated Press reported that French police were stepping up security after the government warned that radical protesters intended to “destroy, injure and kill”.
Concerns that violence could affect the protests prompted what Interior Minister Gerald Darmanen called an unprecedented deployment of 13,000 officers, with about 5,000 concentrated in the capital Paris, where police have faced far-left extremists. fell
Reuters reported that black-clad gangs set fire to rubbish bins and threw grenades at police in Paris. The police responded. with tear gas. Similar protests also erupted in cities including Rennes, Bordeaux and Toulouse. A bank branch and cars were set on fire in Nantes.
France’s Louvre museum closed to the public as pension reform protesters blocked entry
A protester holds a poster mocking French President Emmanuel Macron during a demonstration in Paris, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Across France, train drivers, nurses, teachers, oil refinery workers and other workers went on strike on Tuesday. Amid the unrest, hundreds of international and domestic flights were canceled, trains and other public transportation were affected and some schools were forced to close, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Riot police officers stand behind a street fire during a demonstration in Nantes, western France, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeremiah Gonzalez)
There are protesters. Opposition to Macron’s re-election The campaign promises to reform the pension system by raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030.
Macron bypassed parliament to launch the reforms, which supporters say will keep the French economy competitive and preserve the system without raising taxes or increasing debt.
The French leader used a special constitutional power to reform without allowing past lawmakers to vote. His move this month further fueled the protest movement. Violence has since flared, and thousands of tons of garbage have been piled up on the streets of Paris during a strike by sanitation workers.
People march during a demonstration in Paris, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Christophe Anna)
Union groups say the reform would penalize those who entered the workforce at a young age, meaning those who are physically demanding jobs.
Police estimated 93,000 people Marched in Paris. Tuesday.
That’s down from the record 119,000 at the March 23 demonstration. Still, Tuesday’s turnout exceeded or equaled previous protests that began in January.
Since mid-January, officials say, hundreds of thousands of people have been joining protests and strikes against the bill.
A man points during a demonstration in Paris, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
It comes as French prosecutors raided five major banks in Paris on Tuesday as part of a wider fraud investigation that spanned four continents.
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gave Eiffel Tower website The strikers announced the closure of the world famous tourist destination. The Louvre museum was similarly blocked by the strike on Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.