France sees another day of nationwide protests, braces for more
A coalition of French unions expects to sustain pressure on the government to withdraw the reform.
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A protester holds a portrait of French President Emmanuel Macron during an anti-Macron protest. (AP)
France faced its seventh day of protests over President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular pension reform plans, as well as continued rolling strikes affecting refineries, public transportation, and waste collection.
A coalition of French unions, in a rare show of solidarity since the protest movement began at the end of January, expects to sustain pressure on the government to withdraw the reform, the centerpiece of which is a two-year extension of the retirement age to 64.
According to the Interior Ministry, up to 1 million people are anticipated to march across the country while the Senate continues to study the legislation, with a likely vote on the text from the upper chamber of Parliament expected by Sunday night.
🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷FRANCE🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷
— 777 HERCULES 777 (@77HERCULES77) March 10, 2023
Mass Protests and Blockades all this week across France….
These Huge Protests are taking place across the country this week.
All of France rejects Macron!pic.twitter.com/wBgZMe6c4m
Demonstrations began at 10 am (0900 GMT) in major cities such as Toulouse and Nice. A march in Paris is set to begin at 2 pm.
According to government data, 1.28 million people demonstrated on Tuesday, the greatest attendance since the protest movement's inception. Unions put the figure at 3.5 million individuals.
The majority of voters oppose Macron's plan, while a narrow majority favors the strike measures, as per opinion polls.
Concurrently, TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) confirmed that strikes continue across the oil major's French refineries and depots, while SNCF said national and regional services would be severely impacted throughout the weekend, as per Reuters.
Garbage continues to pile up on the streets of Paris, with locals reporting an increase in the number of rats, as per local media.
If the committee agrees on a text, a final vote in both houses is probable, but the fate of such a vote in the lower house of Parliament, where Macron's party has a relative majority, remains questionable.
On March 15, there will be another day of nationwide strikes and protests.
