Demonstrations by opponents of the pension reform in several French cities on Saturday, particularly in Nantes and Brest, were marked by tensions with the police.
Fresh clashes between protesters and police
In NantesAccording to an AFP photographer, tensions rose by mid-afternoon as a large police force was deployed two days after a violent demonstration. When trash cans were set ablaze on tram tracks, police fired tear gas shells at the bottle-throwing target. Many protesters were arrested.
in Brest Also, security forces fired tear gas shells to disperse a group in front of the sub-province. Many merchants pulled down their metal curtains and a few hooded demonstrators entered a shopping center.
in Paris, Assemblies on Place de la Concorde and Champs-Élysées were banned by police headquarters. In two evenings 49.3 was halted by incidents against the adoption of pension reforms.
On Friday evening, the demonstrations also deteriorated Strasbourg, Lille and Bordeaux. in Lyon, Far-left activists set garbage cans on fire, tagged shop windows and ransacked the district town hall. 36 people were arrested.
Strike at refineries intensifies
The CGT union announced on Saturday that it would close France’s largest refinery (the TotalEnergies site at Gonfreville-L’Orche in Normandy), signaling a hardening of the fight against pension reform.
The shutdown will last several days, however, and should not cause immediate fuel shortages at gas stations across the country. But other refineries could be shut down earlier in the week.
Can the regime be overthrown?
In the National Assembly, two no-confidence motions targeting the government will be considered from Monday afternoon.
The first was tabled by the small group Libertés, Indépendants Outre-mer et Territoires (Liot) and co-signed by elected officials from Nupes, a coalition of left-wing parties.
National rally to vote “All Motions of Condemnation Presented”Filed on his own.
But an absolute majority — necessary to bring down the government — is difficult to achieve without a massive march of right-wing representatives.
Anger against 49.3
On Thursday, Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne decided to invoke Article 49.3 of the constitution, which allows a text to be adopted without the slightest referendum.
It postpones the legal retirement age from 62 to 64, which was condemned by the unions, who were all united against the text.
They called for a new day of mobilization next Thursday, and some sectors a “Renewable Strike”Especially on the SNCF, traffic is disrupted.
To Laurent Berger, General Secretary of the CFDT, if Emmanuel Macron wishes “put out the fire” Social anger, he must “Withdraw the reform or do not implement it”.
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