Mass protests continued to roil French cities on Thursday, with more than a million people turning out to oppose a new policy that raises the retirement age from 62 to 64 and requires workers to contribute to the pension system for longer. The new law is a priority of President Emmanuel Macron, who used a constitutional loophole to force the change into effect after it became apparent parliament would reject it.
The weeks of French protests have been mostly peaceful and led by union leaders. Piles of trash, left out on the streets by striking garbage collectors, have become an emblem of the opposition, and there have also been disruptions to transportation, air traffic, oil refineries, and schools.
But violence broke out Thursday as protesters set fire to the front door of the Bordeaux city hall and newsstands across Paris, hurled smoke bombs, and damaged property. Police tried to quell them with tear gas and water cannons late into the night. At least 149 police were injured and 172 people were arrested. It’s not clear how many civilian injuries there were, and we don’t yet have estimates as to the extent of the damage.
Macron, who narrowly survived a vote of no confidence this week, has said he has no intention of reversing the law. He claimed in a television appearance Wednesday that he needed to convince the public that the reforms were necessary to save what he frames as the country’s endangered pension system, especially given higher life expectancy. But it’s not at all clear that current pension spending is out of control, and in making his claims, only added to protesters’ fury.
It’s difficult to imagine the same kind of mass protests breaking out in the US over raising the age at which people can start collecting Social Security, which is projected to potentially become insolvent by 2033, meaning that beneficiaries could see their checks diminished by 25 percent thereafter. France’s size and strong unions help with protest cohesion,…
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