France: demonstrators, police clash in several cities over controversial pension reform
Violence and clashes between demonstrators and police marred spontaneous rallies in several French cities Thursday night after the government decided to invoke Article 49.3 to pass its controversial pension reform bill without a vote in the National Assembly.
A few hours after Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced the use of this constitutional tool, several surprise demonstrations were organized across the country, including in Paris, Nantes, Rennes, Lyon, Dijon, Marseille, Le Havre, Angers, Cholet, Amiens, Lille, Strasbourg, Aubenas, Moulins, Toulouse to La Rochelle, according to French media.
In the capital, where demonstrators had been gathering since the morning near the National Assembly awaiting the government’s decision on its reform, thousands of people gathered in the Place de la Concorde to express their anger.
Initially peaceful, the Paris rally turned violent and destructive later in the evening, with several fires breaking out in nearby neighborhoods. Garbage cans and several vehicles were set ablaze, while the Interior Minister reported 258 arrests among the Paris protesters and 310 nationwide.
Violence was also reported in other cities, such as Nantes, where garbage cans were set on fire and Molotov cocktails were thrown at the police, while in Marseille several businesses were vandalized in the wake of the demonstration organized after the government’s announcement, according to media in the Hexagon.
In Rennes, “several signs were damaged in the city center and 26 fires were extinguished” by firefighters, according to the prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine, while in Lyon, the headquarters of the city hall was damaged by angry demonstrators.
On Thursday, Elisabeth Borne committed her government’s responsibility by invoking article 49 paragraph 3 of the Constitution to pass the controversial pension reform project, a few hours after the text received the green light from the Senate.
The decision to disregard this article was taken in an extraordinary council of ministers gathered around President Emmanuel Macron, who was unable to secure an absolute majority to pass the vote in the lower house of parliament.
Borne’s team was counting on the support of right-wing Republican deputies to tip the balance in her favor. But after several meetings, the executive, lacking an absolute majority, preferred not to risk a vote in the Assembly.
The government’s decision aroused the anger and indignation of the opposition, which denounced it as a “denial” and a “shock” of democracy on the part of the executive and a “disgrace” for French democracy.
Several opposition parties, which also accused the government of “flouting” Parliament, announced that they would table motions of censure within 24 hours to bring down the executive.
