Paris’ Decline: Waste Rises as Locals Express Outrage Over City’s Condition

The strike was originally supposed to last nine days, but was extended to March 20, AFP reports.

The waste pickers are among millions of people who have taken to the streets since January to protest French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform, which would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Residents and tourists have also expressed their indignation.

Well here my weekly “this is paris” update: the sanitation, trash and sewer workers strike has extended another week. We have 6000 tons of garbage on the streets, the city smells like rotten ass and we’re doing daily battle with the rats when we go outside. https://t.co/HHzJe3RgT3

— LOUIS (@LouisPisano) March 14, 2023

On March 15, more than 7,000 tons of garbage had accumulated on the streets of Paris.

“Welcome to Paris,” resident Tajo Aina said in a tweet accompanying the photos. They show people walking past mountains of garbage.

Welcome to Paris 🗼😊 pic.twitter.com/1JvNwqblen

— Tayo Aina (@tayoainafilms) March 11, 2023

Paris city council says workers at three incinerators in the suburbs have been hit by strikes, leaving the French capital’s sidewalks littered with black garbage bags and overflowing bins.

The household waste collection company “Syctom” reports that the waste collection machines are diverted to other waste storage and processing sites in the region.

The municipality is responsible for waste collection in half of Paris’ districts, while the rest are served by private companies that are not participating in the strike.

Photo: Garbage collectors strike in Paris; garbage piles up in the streets

The government states that the reform is necessary because the current pension system is unsustainable and faces a deficit in the near future.