The French demonstrated this Thursday for an 11th day of mobilization against the pension reform. The Ministry of the Interior announced 570,000 demonstrators across France against 740,000 on March 28. A day of action marked by a declining mobilization.
The 11th day of mobilization against the pension reform was followed across France, including on the island of Groix in Morbihan, where we have been mobilizing since the very first day. Since January 19, not a week, or almost, has passed without a procession. And each time, at least 220 to 250 people took part.
The CGT du Bas-Rhin and two deputies from Strasbourg denounced police violence during the demonstration against the pension reform on Thursday. "The inter-union order service was violently and deliberately attacked by the police," said Laurent Feisthauer, head of CGT 67, in a statement. "The police charged us. Sprayed with tear gas. Then tear gas grenade. And hit us with batons and shields,” he said.
While Place d'Italie is being evacuated, the police have made 45 arrests in Paris, the police headquarters announced on Thursday. A total of 111 people were arrested Thursday in France during the 11th day of mobilization against the pension reform and 154 police officers and gendarmes injured, "some seriously", according to a provisional report tweeted by Gérald Darmanin.
A hundred French and Belgian firefighters demonstrated Thursday in Paris under the Arc de Triomphe against the pension reform before joining the procession which marched through the streets of the capital, we learned from the Unsa union. "We wanted to do a symbolic action that speaks to people," commented to AFP one of the participants, Grégory Chaillou, member of Unsa des Yvelines. Thirty Belgian firefighters made the trip to show "their full support for what the French colleagues are going through," one of them, Boris Dubié, told AFP.
The porch of the Banque de France branch in Nancy was set on fire on Thursday on the sidelines of the parade against the pension reform, noted an AFP photographer. The firefighters intervened to extinguish the disaster after the departure of the arsonists, during the demonstration which brought together some 4,000 people in the Lorraine city, according to the prefecture of Meurthe-et-Moselle. The fire was caused by a garbage can being pushed against the door and then set on fire. A guard, who tried to intervene, was slightly injured, said the prefecture.
The ministry announced that 111 demonstrators were arrested during this eleventh day of mobilization. 154 law enforcement officers were injured in France.
The day after the twelfth day of mobilization, the inter-union indicated that it was calling for action, Friday, April 14. On that day, the Constitutional Council must render its decision on the disputed reform.
According to the unions, nearly 2 million people demonstrated "in calm and determination" on Thursday against the pension reform. They are 570,000 according to the Ministry of the Interior.
The violence continues on the Place d'Italie in Paris. A demonstrator fell unconscious after receiving a grenade thrown by the police.
a protester has been knocked unconscious by a police grenade at Place d’Italie
The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, considered Thursday "inevitable" a pension reform in France, in the face of "demographic changes" and the aging of the population which mean that "fewer people contribute to the economy". But this requires, according to her, to "build a consensus". This requires involving "everyone from the bottom up".
On the set of C à vous, Laurent Berger (CFDT) returned to the violence that punctuated the Parisian demonstration and the attack on La Rotonde. " It's silly. There are still, in the Parisian procession, crazy people. I don't know how to qualify them, who came there to break. He condemned these acts: "It doesn't make sense and it has nothing to do with the fight we are fighting." Violence, we fear it," he said, before calling for "calm."
She has just won the legislative election in Ariège, against the candidate Nupes Bénédicte Taurine. Martine Frauger, opposed to the left-wing alliance Nupes, was insulted during the demonstration in Foix. "Get out of here, get out, you don't belong here", "facho", "collaborator". She was also doused with water, reports BFMTV. She preferred to leave the premises.
Our deputy @MartineFroger has just suffered a shameful attack by a far-left group during the pension demonstration in Foix. Jets of water, physical threats, “facho collaborator” insults and many others. About forty individuals are determined to fight it out. Support Martine pic.twitter.com/av7iGDYahD
This is where the Parisian demonstration must arrive. While the head of the procession is already there, the police protect a construction site located in the middle of the Place d'Italie. To do this, they used many tear gas, drowning the place in thick smoke.
LIVEPlace d'Italie is drowned in tear gas as gendarmes try to secure a construction site
The leader of the UGT, one of the two main Spanish unions, Pepe Alvarez, participated on Thursday in the Toulouse demonstration against the pension reform. He said he "admired the capacity for mobilization of the French people". He assured that "this battle [against the pension reform] does not only concern the French population, it is observed with great attention in Spain [...] and we believe that it will be won for sure" . "History tells us that when France says 'enough!' ", this is an important signal", he underlines, adding: "It is lamentable, the government does not dialogue, it tries to impose and it cannot give good results. The government must back down." In Spain, the retirement age will be 67 years in 2027. Last month, Spanish MPs validated a reform providing for higher incomes to contribute more to the financial balance of the system, without giving rise to demonstrations or clashes with the police.
