France braces for 12th round of protests against gov't pension reform

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) - French workers and trade unions Thursday are gearing up for a new set of nationwide protests against the government's pension reform.

This is the 12th round since January, with hundreds of thousands of workers walking out and millions rallying.

The government and President Emmanuel Macron are not willing to back-pedal on the pension reform, and the Constitutional Council will achieve examining the bill on Friday.

The national railway company SNCF and Paris regional transportation company RATP said their traffic would be slightly disrupted, and the mobilization seems to have tamed a bit due to the Easter break and families who are traveling, according to media reports.

The General Labor Confederation (CGT) trade union representing the Paris garbage collectors launched a new strike including in the incineration plants, which may cause severe disruptions in the capital once more, as was the case during March, due to garbage piling up in the streets for weeks.

A group of protesters blocked an alley leading to the Constitutional Council on Thursday morning, building a barricade of dumpsters and trash, the daily Le Figaro said.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin prohibited demonstrations near the Council as of this evening, including Friday evening, the same source added.

Protests started in other cities as well, including Toulouse.

French authorities on Thursday expect up to 600,000 protesters, including 70,000 in Paris, the daily also said.

A total of 11,500 police officers will be deployed in the country to intervene in possible troubles, including 4,200 in Paris, the Interior Ministry said, according to Le Figaro.

The government unveiled the reform project in January and parliament started debating it the following month.

Workers and trade unions have expressed growing outrage by holding demonstrations and walkouts against the reform, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, and requiring at least 43 years of work to be eligible for a full pension.

Political and social tension rose on March 16 when President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne decided to use special constitutional powers to force the plan through without parliamentary approval.

When the protests turned violent after that decision, police were accused of making arbitrary arrests and using force disproportionately.