Protesters Heckle Macron During Netherlands Speech
The French president was confronted with signs accusing his administration of “violence and hypocrisy.”
The French president was confronted with signs accusing his administration of “violence and hypocrisy.”
A symptom of the French penchant to riot or part of a broader collapse of the Fifth Republic? The European Conservative speaks to a participant of recent anti-Macron pension demonstrations to examine the movement’s causes, character, and future.
The unhealthy political, social, and economic climate in France is now of international concern. The Council of Europe has sounded the alarm against excessive use of violence against the demonstrators.
The country is plagued by all sorts of blockades and other incidents. Roadblocks are set up on many roads and around major cities by demonstrators.
Even if the government has not been overthrown and the pension law is automatically adopted, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne now suffers from a severe lack of legitimacy.
The government’s announcement to use article 49.3 of the Constitution has put the country in a state of fever. Now, the government runs the risk of being overthrown.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo is refusing to act. She and her team are blaming the government and its pension reform for the current situation, which she intends to encourage.
The government has been slowly negotiating pension reform with the EU Commission, but economists project they will increase pension costs in the long run.
The bill is progressing in the Senate but is more unpopular than ever in public opinion. It crystallises a certain number of resentments plied against the president and his government.
Tuesday’s events may be decisive in stemming Macron’s plans to reform French retirement.
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