French protests: Violence erupts in Paris as police clash with protesters at Place de la Concorde
Protesters are angry about President Emmanuel Macron's decision to force a bill through parliament to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a vote.
Friday 17 March 2023 21:16, UK
Police have clashed again with protesters angry at the French government's plans to raise the country's retirement age.
Protestors lit a fire and gathered in the Place de la Concorde, near the National Assembly building in Paris where they faced a line of riot police.
Images of tear gas being used by police to deal with the crowds was broadcast by Reuters TV, while other protesters were heard chanting "Macron, resign".
Police have detained 61 people following the protests on Friday, according to French broadcaster BFMTV.
This is in addition to a further 310 people who were arrested on Thursday, 258 of those in Paris, French Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin said.
Smaller scale protests and rallies are also taking place in Bordeaux and Toulouse.
The ongoing demonstrations follow two motions of no confidence that were tabled against the French president, one of which came from Marine Le Pen's party Rassemblement National and was signed by 88 cross-party MPs.
Another group of independent politicians put forward a second motion which was signed by 91 MPs from five parliamentary groups.
Earlier on Friday, police pepper sprayed young protesters near the Sorbonne University, while other protestors blocked traffic, bin collections stopped and students walked out of lectures.
Many are angry at Mr Macron's decision to force a bill through parliament to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a vote.
Mr Macron ordered Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to use a special constitutional power known as Article 49.3 to force through the controversial reform in the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament.
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On Friday morning, Paris's peripherique - the main ring road around the capital - was disrupted at almost 200 points during peak rush hour, according to French media.
The next few days will be telling
France is seething but where these protests go is hard to guess.
There's undoubtedly widespread resistance to the raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Polls suggest 70 to 80% of the working population is against the idea.
But France is also weary of strikes.
The next few days will be telling.
More demonstrations across the country are planned and they may very well gain momentum.
At the heart of this is for many people, the soul of the nation and what it means to be French.
A dignified and comfortable retirement is seen as an inalienable right in a country which has always kept work in perspective.
But the question of how to deal with a pension crisis in a country where people are living longer and there are fewer workers to pay for it all remains.
The government's answer is to raise the retirement age.
It's also worth bearing in mind that this is an intractable issue that precedes President Macron's time by many years.
On the streets the demonstrators see the French leader as simply a friend of the rich.
They claim the solution is higher taxes for the wealthy.
But one thing is clear and that is that one way or another change is coming.
A looming budget deficit and a bleak economic reality make that inescapable.
Mr Macron's risky strategy has infuriated unions, opposition politicians and many citizens.
Opposition parties were expected to start the process for a no-confidence vote in the government later on Friday, however the vote is likely to take place next week.
The controversial reform has prompted nationwide strikes since January but the increasingly chaotic political situation has sparked immense anger.
Yellow Vest demonstrators, or the Gilets Jaunes - the protest group that has brought France to a standstill at several points in recent years - are also expected to take to the streets later.
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Outside the largest waste incinerator in Europe, rubbish collectors insisted they would intensify the strikes to force the government to reverse course.
The collectors had voted to continue their strike action until at least 20 March, France Info reported.
More than 9,000 tonnes of waste has not been collected in Paris since the start of the strike.
"I call, and the CGT union calls, for a massive movement and for workers to go on strike massively," said CGT union representative Régis Vieceli.
"That's the only thing that will get them to back down. We need to hit them financially. When they start seeing the financial impact, they'll go and cry on Macron's shoulder."