At least 108 police officers have been hurt in conflicts with protestors opposed to pension reforms across France, according to the interior minister.
A huge number of injured police, according to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, was extremely unusual. He also said that 291 people had been detained as a result of the turmoil.
Participating in May Day protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s measures were hundreds of thousands of protestors. Majority of them were peaceful, although extremist elements let off fireworks and threw petrol bombs. Police retaliated with water cannons and tear gas. The number of protestors hurt is unclear.
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne called the violence “unacceptable” in a tweet, who also praised the “responsible mobilisation and commitment” of protesters in various towns.
Monday was the most recent day of widespread protest against legislation raising the state pension age from 62 to 64 which the unions want to be taken out.
The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union claims that there were three times as many demonstrations as the Interior Ministry estimated at 782,000, including 112,000 in the capital city of Paris. Union leaders insisted that the months-long opposition was not abating.
“The page is not going to be turned as long as there is no withdrawal of this pension reform. The determination to win is intact,” according to CGT head Sophie Binet, who was reported by AFP.
One police officer in Paris was severely burned on his hands and face after being hit by a petrol bomb, according to Darmanin.
Additionally, there was violence in Lyons, Toulouse, and Nantes, where businesses were attacked and vehicles were set ablaze. Additionally, there were rumours that protesters in Marseille, a city in southern France, briefly took over a five-star hotel. France’s top eight unions supported calls for a demonstration on Monday for the first time since 2009, according to the AFP news agency.
Since the administration opted to drive the law through the lower house of parliament – where it lacks an absolute majority – without a vote in March, there has been a violent component to the protests.
Emmanuel Macron supports the reform by stating that it is essential.
Hours after the French Constitutional Council widely endorsed the revisions, he signed the reform into law on April 15. However, polls indicate that a sizable portion of the populace opposes the increased pension age.
By September, the revisions should be in effect.
Further discussions have been promised by the government, but the unions are adamant that the changes be undone, making it unclear where a compromise might be reached.
