Protesters sprayed with tear gas by riot police over pension reform

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Mar 2023 00:34
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Using water cannons, the police managed to block access to the Palais Bourbon, the National Assembly's building.

Demonstrators hold a placard depicting French President Emmanuel Macron that reads, "metro, work, grave" during a protest in Paris, March 17, 2023 (AP)

Photographs widely circulated online showed riot police clashing with demonstrators and employing tear gas against them in today's protest in France, where thousands of demonstrators gathered to oppose the government's pension reform.

The streets of Paris are on fire: protests over pension reform are underway in France.
Protesters burn fences and demand the resignation of French President Emmanuel Macron. pic.twitter.com/1IyCVUiiTA
— Mikhail Kulakov (@mikkulakov) March 17, 2023

Protesters began to demand French President Emmanuel Macron's resignation as soon as they reached the square near the Parliament building, according a RIA Novosti correspondent.

They were seen building barricades of fences and boards while setting fire to barriers installed by riot police in central Paris. Using water cannons, the police managed to block access to the Palais Bourbon, the National Assembly's building.

🔴 Face à face entre police et manifestants à #Paris : canon à eau et barricades pour le 2eme soir d’affilé sur #Concorde contre la #ReformedesRetraite pic.twitter.com/KL43s0h2jV
— Clément Lanot (@ClementLanot) March 17, 2023

Tear gas was fired at demonstrators near the Place de la Concorde.

#France 🇨🇵

🔴 Place de la Concorde, Paris. The police used tear gas against the protesters pic.twitter.com/mrlYJ3aLQg
— Nexx_ (@_Nex3_) March 17, 2023

Yesterday, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced that the law extending the retirement age in France from 62 to 64 years old was adopted by the government using Article 49.3 of the constitution - an article that allows the government to pass a law without a vote in parliament.

At the time when the law was adopted, the eighth nationwide demonstration against the reform was already on.

The pension reform bill being championed by the government in France is aimed at balancing the country's pension financial system without having to raise taxes, government spokesperson Olivier Veran said earlier Wednesday.

The bill provides for gradually increasing the national retirement age from 62 to 64 years and canceling special regimes for numerous professions that require hard labor, drawing the ire of the French people and sparking a wave of demonstrations that took France by storm.