France sees more protests over pensions
PARIS — French rail workers, teachers, doctors, lawyers and others joined a fourth day of nationwide protests and strikes Thursday to denounce President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to overhaul the pension system.
Street protests were staged in Paris and other French cities as the government and labor unions pushed on with negotiations aimed at ending railway strikes over the proposed changes that started Dec. 5.
The Paris march started from the Republique square in the city center and was accompanied by a large police presence. The Elysee presidential palace was barricaded as protesters were due to head toward the area.
Unions said the protest in the capital attracted 370,000 demonstrators, while French consulting firm Occurrence estimated a crowd of 44,000.
By the time the demonstration wound down, 20 demonstrators and 16 police officers had been injured, according to the Paris police department. Officers made two dozens arrests amid occasional flare ups of violence, Paris police said.
The Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors as employees joined the protest. Paris Metro traffic was severely disrupted, except for one automated line running normally.
The national rail company, SNCF, said about one-third of its workers were on strike Thursday, the 36th day of the strike by railway workers. Three high-speed trains out of five were in operation. Regional trains were also affected. and many schools were closed.
Unions have also called on workers to block road access to major ports, including in the southern city of Marseille.
Philippe Martinez, head of hard-left CGT union, said “there are many people on strike” yet the government doesn’t appear “willing to discuss and take into account the opinion of unions.”
Talks between the government and labor unions resumed Tuesday but no compromise has been found. A new round of negotiations focusing on the financing of the new pension system is scheduled for Friday. Macron has asked his government to find a quick compromise with reformminded unions.