In France today, May 1st, was a Labor Day in the context of the controversial pension reform. The unions had called for protests across the country. Hundreds of thousands responded to the appeal.
In France, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms on Labor Day. According to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, the majority of the protests remained peaceful. 12,000 security forces, 5,000 in Paris alone, secured the 300 protest events nationwide.
For the first time, drones were also used to fly over the demonstration trains. According to the police, almost 800,000 people took part in the protests across the country; the unions that had called for the demonstrations put the number of participants significantly higher at 2.3 million.
riots and violence
There were also riots on the fringes of the May rallies. The police reported arrests and injuries and used tear gas to push back the violent demonstrators. Rioters set fire to cars and garbage cans and smashed shop and bank windows.
According to Darmanin, 180 people were arrested by late afternoon. Especially in the capital Paris and in the cities of Nantes and Lyon, the law enforcement officers had faced extremely violent rioters who had come with the aim of killing police officers and attacking the property of others, the interior minister complained.
In Paris, a police officer was seriously injured after being burned by a Molotov cocktail. “This violence must be condemned unreservedly,” Darmanin said. Video images from different cities showed massive damage to property.
France, Paris: Rescue workers in their uniforms take part in a demonstration on the occasion of Labor Day.
Unions united in protest
Most recently, two weeks ago, there were large-scale nationwide protests when President Macron officially raised the retirement age from 62 to 64. The opponents of the reform are particularly bothered by the way in which Macron’s government implemented the project: namely by using a special paragraph without a vote in parliament. The pension reform is now scheduled to come into force on September 1st.
The trade unions, in particular, which are extraordinarily powerful in France, have been up in arms against the new law for weeks. Instead, the traditionally rival employee representatives came together and called for a national day of protest against the pension reform.
However, the unusual unity could crumble, because there is disagreement about whether to enter into negotiations with the government or not. While the head of the left-wing CGT trade union, Sophie Binet, is more reserved, the head of the reform-oriented CFDT, Laurent Berger, was willing to talk. Both practiced clear criticism of Macron.
How long will the protests continue?
The opposition is also mobilizing against Macron and his government. “Seldom has a president been so withdrawn, isolated, in distress and so arrogant,” said Marine le Pen, right-wing opposition leader in parliament. She blamed the President for today’s riots by provoking and fueling condemnable street violence. “He alone is responsible for the constant seething, this legitimate protest, provoked by his disregard and his unnecessary provocations, which poison the situation more and more every day.”
In fact, Macron’s poll ratings are the lowest since the days of the “yellow vest” protests. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the demonstrations on May 1st will possibly be the last major rallies against the pension reform. The number of participants had already been declining before that. However, the concerns of the reform opponents today caused a great mobilization: Usually, a maximum of 160,000 people take part in May Day rallies throughout France.
With information from Stefanie Markert, ARD Studio Paris