Tension in France: the Police disperse those who demonstrated against the pension reform in front of the Parliament

The security forces intervened this Thursday evening on the Place de la Concorde, in the heart of Paris, disperse thousands of demonstrators protesting against the pension reform near the Chamber of Deputies, confirmed the news agency AFP.

Officers used water cannons after attempting to damage artwork on the ancient Egyptian obelisk in the center of the square, police said.

Since mid-afternoon, thousands of people have gathered in the square after the government adopted an unpopular reform, which raises the retirement age from 62 to 64, without submitting it to the vote of the deputies. .

Police loaded and fired tear gas to clear protesters from the bridge which connects the Plaza de la Concordia to the National Assembly (lower house). At least eight people have been arrested, according to police.

A good part of the demonstrators left the scene around 8:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. GMT) in the direction of the adjacent streets.

Several cities in France have recorded spontaneous demonstrations against the reform promoted by liberal President Emmanuel Macron.

Likewise, French unions are planning a new day of strikes and demonstrations against the reform promoted by President Emmanuel Macron. “The union united front continues to demand the withdrawal of the reform and calls for a new day of strikes and demonstrations for Thursday, March 23,” the head of the hard-working CGT union said at a press conference. Catherine Perret.

The government on Thursday invoked special constitutional powers to promote the impugned reform without a vote in parliament, where its centrist party does not have an absolute majority.

Macron and his government are facing a real political storm after approval by decree and without a vote in the National Assembly in the absence of a clear majority among the deputies.

The decision, taken after the third meeting of the day at the Elysée, between Macron, his prime minister, Elisabeth Borneand several members of the Executive, paved the way for the announcement of motions of censure separated by the left and the extreme right, as well as demands for the resignation of the head of government.

Borne had the bad taste to announce before the plenary session of the National Assembly the Government’s recourse to Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows a measure to be approved without a parliamentary vote, and which was decided after a brief extraordinary Council of Ministers.

“You cannot run the risk of playing with the future of pensions, this reform is necessary”, declared Borne under the cries and boos of the opposition, before assuring that his government takes this decision “out of responsibility “.

Borne had to speak between some mockery and the repeated chants of La Marseillaise from the left-wing deputies, who also chanted “resignation, resignation” to the Prime Minister, a brief but stormy intervention.

The use of 49.3 opens the doors to a possible political crisis, with several calls from the opposition for Borne’s resignation and the rapid announcement of two motions of censure, one by the left and the other by the extreme. LAW.

“Borne can’t go on,” the far-right leader clearly said Marine Le Penwho stressed that “a majority of French people” had come out against the government’s plan.

He also said that his group will vote in favor of any motion of no confidence, even if it comes from the left, after the decision of the executive to circumvent the parliamentary vote. “The important thing is not who presents the motion, the important thing is that the government falls”, he underlined.

Le Pen, who called it a “deep political crisis”, pointed directly at President Macron, since, he said, the pension reform was the only reform he had presented during the election campaign last year.

“A text that does not have a majority in the National Assembly or the support of the people should go in the trash”said the far-right MP, who felt that with the use of 49.3 the executive “shows its weakness”.

The left is also preparing a motion of censure, according to the communist leader, Fabien Rousselwho encouraged the mobilization to continue in the streets and insisted on his initiative to ask for a referendum, for which four million signatures are necessary.

“The motion of censure is ready, we will try to make it receive the greatest possible support”, declared the communist deputy.

The Senate had approved the reform this morning with a comfortable margin (193 votes for and 114 against), but the doubts of a significant number of deputies from the Macronist bloc and the conservative LR party did not allow the necessary objectives to be achieved. . number of votes in favor at the Assembly.

These doubts remained despite the fact that the government had accepted certain changes in its draft legislation at the request of LR, with whom Borne and his ministers hoped to obtain sufficient support in the Assembly, which was ultimately not confirmed.

The chaotic day was framed by new partial strikes in various sectors (railway, energy or air traffic controllers), while garbage collection in half of Paris is already on its tenth day of strike.

(With information from AFP and EFE)

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