France: protests continue in the streets and paralyze more activities

On the third consecutive day of the social outbreak due to the approval, via presidential decree, of the controversial pension reform, yesterday the main cities of France became the scene of spontaneous acts of rebellion, strikes in commercial activities and intense clashes between demonstrators and the police, according to information from the French press.

There were multiple makeshift barricades on fire, an attempt was also made to to take symbolically some public buildings, but what is most undermining the normal functioning of the country is the stoppage of some commercial, transport and industrial activities, such as passenger trains, refineries and garbage collection.

Tens of thousands of people mobilized on this day, not only in Paris, but in cities such as Nantes, Lyon, Caen, Saint-Etienne, Bordeaux, Brest, Roanne, Marseille, Grenoble, Gap and Annecy, among others. This has left the president, the conservative Emmanuel Macron, with the most serious challenge to his rule since the 2018 protests by the civil movement of the yellow vests against the rise in the price of fuels, fiscal injustice and the loss of purchasing power.

Tension is growing in the country just a few hours before the crucial vote in the National Assembly on the two motions of no confidence presented separately by left and right-wing deputies against the president, which are scheduled to take place today.

The number of detainees is a reflection of the worsening of this crisis. Just the night before in Paris there were 65 people apprehended, while in Lyon 30 arrests were reported, to which must be added the 310 on the first day. In other words, more than 400 detainees accused of public disorder and it is foreseeable that the number will increase in the next few hours.

Another symptom of the maximum tension is the strong public security device that was activated both in the vicinity of the Plaza de la Concordia, and the National Assembly, where it is also expressly prohibited to carry out any type of protest by police order, under the argument of risk against public order.

But this prohibition did not prevent spontaneous mobilizations from proliferating throughout the day, most of them led by combative young people who have decided to convert March 23 in its may 68when a series of protests broke out against the consumer society, capitalism, imperialism and authoritarianism.

Elsewhere in the capital, members of the Permanent Revolution collective briefly invaded the Forum des Halles shopping mall, waving banners calling for a general strike and chanting Paris on your feet, stand up!according to videos broadcast on social networks consulted by the Reuters agency.

The main local unions, mainly the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), insisted on their message to paralyze the activity of France, which in fact they partially achieved in some sectors.

For example, in protest of the reform, activity was completely halted at four strategic refineries in the country, with which it is feared that in the next few hours or days there will begin to be a hydrocarbon supply problem given that others will join the protest. There was also an impact on the passenger transport services of trains with different routes.

It was reported that as a result of the air traffic controllers’ strike, between 20 and 30 percent of flights had to be cancelled. And there is the problem of uncollected garbage, which especially in Paris is becoming a public health issue, with more than 10,000 tons of waste already accumulating.

Riot police used tear gas to confront groups of angry protesters, who threw stones and other objects. During the demonstrations, bonfires were lit in which cardboard effigies of Macron burned, whom they accuse of turn your back to democracy.

In other cities, such as Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lyon and Strasbourg, massive concentrations of workers agreed to reiterate the CGT’s call not to attend schools, factories, refineries and other workplaces to force Macron to withdraw his plan.

As of today, all eyes will be on the headquarters of the National Assembly, converted into a fort, where it is planned to hold the vote on the motion of no confidence, which needs 287 votes in favor to go ahead.

Currently, the groups that presented the motion, which are from the left, by the Independent Liberties, Overseas and Territories bloc, to the extreme right of Marine Le Pen, do not have the numbers, but they have a slight hope that the bloc of the Republicans, who add up to 61 deputies, finally support the motion to knock down the reform, which is very unpopular in their regions.

If the initiative is approved, the government of the Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, would fall, and the controversial reform would be shelved, but it is still an uncertain scenario.