WRAP-Protesters, police clash across France in day of strife over Macron's pension changes

Record ID: 1717051

  • Title: WRAP-Protesters, police clash across France in day of strife over Macron's pension changes
  • Date: 23rd March 2023
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 23, 2023) (REUTERS) PENSION REFORM PROTESTERS AND UNION FLOATS GATHERED ON PLACE DE LA BASTILLE SQUARE PROTESTERS, BANNER READING (French): “Macron dictator” PROTESTERS ON SQUARE PROTESTER HOLDING SIGN WITH PICTURE OF FRENCH PRESIDENT, EMMANUEL MACRON, IN ROYAL ATTIRE AND TEXT READING (French): “Macron disdainful of the republic” PROTESTERS MARCHING AND CHANTING, ONE WAVING A YELLOW VEST IN THE AIR PROTESTERS HOLDING SIGNS PROTESTERS ON THE SQUARE, FLARE SMOKE BOTTLES BEING THROWN AT THE LINE OF RIOT POLICE / POLICE THROWING TEAR GAS CANISTER, TEAR GAS SMOKE GOING OFF TEAR GAS SMOKE ON ROAD TEAR GAS GOING OFF, PROTESTERS RUNNING POLICE CHARGING PROTESTERS AROUND POLICE VARIOUS OF POLICE ARRESTING PROTESTERS PILE OF TRASH BURNING IN FRONT OF THE POLICE VARIOUS OF TRASH BURNING ON ROAD NANTES, FRANCE (MARCH 23, 2023) (REUTERS) POLICE PUSHING BACK PROTESTERS, WHO TRY TO PUSH BACK IN RETURN PROTESTERS IN TEAR GAS SMOKE, TEAR GAS CANISTERS FALLING ON GROUND PROTESTERS IN TEAR GAS SMOKE THROWING PROJECTILES PROTESTERS BLOCKING ROAD WITH BARRIERS AND BURNING BINS NANTES, FRANCE (MARCH 23, 2023) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS PROTECTING THEMSELVES WITH UMBRELLAS AND SHOOTING PROJECTILES TOWARDS POLICE RIOT POLICE GATHERED, TEAR GAS SPREADING, PROTESTER THROWING PROJECTILE RIOT POLICE GATHERED PROTESTERS PROTECTING THEMSELVES WITH UMBRELLAS AND THROWING PROJECTILES AT POLICE BURNING BINS NEAR PROTESTERS UNION MEMBERS MARCHING, PROTESTER HOLDING BANNER WITH SKELETON REPRESENTED READING (French): "Long live retirement! We worked, not to die!" PROTESTERS MARCHING AND CHANTING: "Anti-capitalista" PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 23, 2022) (REUTERS) TRAIN ARRIVING ON PLATFORM AT SAINT LAZARE TRAIN STATION PEOPLE STEPPING OUT OF THE TRAIN PEOPLE WALKING ON THE PLATFORM PEOPLE STANDING IN FRONT OF TV SCREENS IN TRAIN STATION HALL SCREEN WITH SIGN READING (French): “Interprofessional social mobilisation: On Thursday, March 23, train traffic on L and J lines is strongly disrupted. One train out of three will be circulating.” VARIOUS OF PEOPLE STANDING IN FRONT OF TV SCREENS IN THE TRAIN STATION HALL VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GOING THROUGH THE TICKET CONTROL GATE PEOPLE WAITING ON THE PLATFORM CLOSE OF FEET WAITING ON PLATFORM TRAIN ARRIVING AT PLATFORM VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GETTING ON THE TRAIN GONFREVILLE-L'ORCHER, FRANCE (MARCH 23, 2023) (REUTERS) SIGN READING (French and English): “Normandy Platform Refinery” REFINERY SECRETARY-GENERAL OF CGT TOTALENERGIES REFINERY NORMANDIE, ALEXIS ANTONIOLI, BEING INTERVIEWED BY JOURNALISTS IN FRONT OF THE REFINERY WORKER WEARING VEST WITH "CGT TOTALENERGIES" SIGN ON IT WORKERS WEARING CGT UNION VESTS AT THE REFINERY ENTRANCE STOP SIGN IN FRONT OF REFINERY ENTRANCE (SOUNDBITE) (French) SECRETARY-GENERAL OF CGT TOTALENERGIES REFINERY NORMANDIE, ALEXIS ANTONIOLI, SAYING: “For us, 10, 12 years ago, the previous pension reform was already unacceptable. What we want is a retirement age of 60 years old and 55 years old for those with hard working conditions. And at one point, all these demands have to be expressed on the ground, and if we have to go beyond the demands set by the inter-unions, then this is what we will do.” FLARE ON GROUND WITH PROTESTERS IN BACK HOLDING SIGN READING (French): “Railway workers, customers, together for the iron.” FIRES BURNING ON ROAD PROTEST IN PROGRESS
  • Embargoed: 6th April 2023 17:52
  • Keywords: France Macron Nantes Paris Rennes pension protests
  • Location: PARIS, NANTES AND GONFREVILLE-L'ORCHER, FRANCE
  • City: PARIS, NANTES AND GONFREVILLE-L'ORCHER, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Fundamental Rights/Civil Liberties,Europe,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001978123032023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS NOTE: THIS IS A HIGHLIGHTS WRAP OF MATERIAL THAT HAS ALREADY MOVED. IT DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY FRESH MATERIAL
    Protesters angry with President Emmanuel Macron and his plan to raise the pension age blocked main roads, set fire to rubbish bins, threw projectiles, and marched en masse in cities across France on Thursday (March 23).
    In the western city of Nantes, police fired tear gas at protesters, who used umbrellas to protect themselves and took to the streets chanting: "Long live retirement! We worked, not to die!"
    Transport services across the country were also disrupted. Just one train out of three was circulating at Paris' Saint-Lazare train station and the SNCF warned that traffic would remain disrupted until Friday (March 24) in Lille.
    In the commune of Gonfreville-l'Orcher, workers continued rolling strikes against the reform, blocking fuel deliveries from French refineries TotalEnergies Normandy.
    Secretary-General of CGT Totalenergies Refinery Normandie, Alexis Antonioli, said, "10, 12 years ago, the previous pension reform was already unacceptable. What we want is a retirement age of 60 years old and 55 years old for those with hard working conditions."
    "All these demands have to be expressed on the ground, and if we have to go beyond the demands set by the inter-unions, then this is what we will do," he added.
    Opinion polls have long shown that a majority of voters were opposed to delaying retirement age by two years to 64.
    Protests against the new law, which also accelerates a planned increase in the number of years one must work to draw a full pension, have drawn huge crowds in rallies organised by unions since January. Most have been peaceful but anger has been mounting since the government's decision last week to push the pension changes through parliament without a vote.
    Macron broke weeks of silence on the new policy to say he would stand firm and the law would come into force by the end of the year. He compared the protests to the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol in 2021.
    The latest wave of protests represents the most serious challenge to the president's authority since the "Yellow Vest" revolt four years ago.
    (Production: Mussab Al-Khairalla, Francesca Halliwell)
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