Pension reform in France: increase in violence on the sidelines of demonstrations

Demonstration in Rennes against the pension reform, March 23, 2023. © DAMIEN MEYER / AFP

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The mobilization against the pension reform remained very strong Thursday in France. A week after the government forced its passage on this text, the radicalization of the movement has resulted in an increase in violence.

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In total, 3.5 million people demonstrated in more than 300 cities in France, according to the CGT union, and 1.08 million according to the Ministry of the Interior. A massive mobilization for this 9th day of action, but the first since the government used a constitutional provision, 49.3.

The protests have also seen renewed tensions in several cities in France. Sporadic since the beginning of the mobilization on January 19, violence has resurfaced sometimes spectacularly, monopolizing again the antenna of television channels and reviving memories of the popular movement of "yellow vests".

According to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, 123 gendarmes and police officers were injured during the incidents and more than 80 people arrested. Faced with the rise of radicalization, he announced the mobilization of 12,000 police and gendarmes Thursday, including 5,000 in Paris. In the evening, Gérald Darmanin, denounced the violence of "casseurs" from the "extreme left". Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Thursday evening deemed "unacceptable" the "violence and degradation" in these demonstrations.

An explosive situation due to Emmanuel Macron, according to Philippe Martinez

Shortly before the start of the Paris demonstration, the general secretary of the moderate CFDT union, Laurent Berger, had called for "non-violence". His counterpart of the CGT Philippe Martinez had estimated for his part that Emmanuel Macron had "thrown a can of gasoline on the fire", recalling that the unions had written to him to alert him to the "explosive situation" of the country.

In Paris, violence erupted at the head of the demonstration with its share of broken windows and street furniture destroyed in reverse of a procession where the vast majority of demonstrators marched peacefully. Throughout the parade, several mini markets, fast food and banks, according to AFP journalists. Incidents were still ongoing in the early evening, including garbage cans and newsstands set on fire.

A kiosk set on fire in Paris, France, March 23, 2023. REUTERS - NACHO DOCE

In Rouen (northwest), a demonstrator in her thirties, who works with disabled children, had a thumb torn off, according to a deputy of La France Insoumise, Alma Dufour, who questions the use of a grenade of encirclement by the police.

In Nantes, demonstrators broke into the administrative court, ransacking the reception and breaking windows and doors. Several businesses were damaged. In Lorient, the police station and security forces were targeted by demonstrators, mostly young people with their faces covered. Windows in the building were shattered by projectile jets.

Protesters use umbrellas to protect themselves from projectiles, March 23, 2023. © Jeremias Gonzalez / AP

In Rennes, the day after a day of clashes between fishermen and police, tear gas grenades responded to projectile throws and garbage can fires, plunging the procession of the inter-union, caught in a vice, in a thick cloud of acrid smoke. Mayor Nathalie Appéré was moved by "scenes of chaos".

In Bordeaux, the door of the City Hall was set on fire. The fire was quickly brought under control and extinguished by firefighters. The damage seems to be limited to the entrance of the building.

#ReformesDesRetraites The entrance to the town hall of #Bordeaux on fire pic.twitter.com/i2AffFVGzd

— Rue89 Bordeaux (@Rue89Bordeaux) March 23, 2023

► READ ALSO: In France, protesters and union denounce an increase in police violence

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