Bordeaux town hall set on fire in France pension protests

Bordeaux’s city hall was set on fire amid ongoing French protests against plans to raise the pension age.

More than one million people took to the streets across France on Thursday, including 119,000 in Paris, according to Interior Ministry figures.

Police fired tear gas at protesters in the capital, arresting 80 people across the country.

The demonstration was triggered by a law raising the retirement age by two years to 64.

Trade unions are calling for further protests next Tuesday, coinciding with the official visit of King Charles III.

He was due to be in the southwestern city of Bordeaux that day, where the main entrance to City Hall was engulfed in fire on Thursday night after a day of protests and clashes.

It was not clear who was responsible for the fire, which was quickly put out by firefighters.

Interior Minister Gerard Dalmanan said on Thursday night that security was “no problem,” according to the Associated Press, in an attempt to allay any concerns ahead of the king’s visit.

Reuters reported that while demonstrations were largely peaceful in Paris, police and masked mobs occasionally clashed, smashing shop windows, vandalizing street fixtures and destroying McDonald’s restaurants. attacked

One unconscious policeman was safely dragged away.

The Associated Press reported that 33 people were arrested in the capital as police used tear gas and were bombarded with objects and fireworks.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne murmured: “It’s your right to express and express your disagreements. The violence and depravity we witnessed today is unacceptable. We thank the police and rescue teams mobilized.”

The demonstrators told Reuters: “I am against this reform and really against the fact that democracy means nothing anymore. ‘We are not represented and we are fed up.'”

Another person told AFP news agency: “All other ways . . . have failed to reverse this reform, so protest that we can make our voices heard.”

The unrest has also disrupted train operations, oil refineries and has seen teachers and workers at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport quit their jobs.

Popular attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles, where King Charles and the French president are scheduled to have a dinner next week, were also closed on Thursday.

In the northern city of Rouen, a young woman was seen lying on the ground after suffering a serious injury to her hand. According to her witnesses, a so-called “flashball” grenade fired by police to disperse her demonstrators hit her and lost her thumb.

There were also clashes in the western cities of Nantes, Rennes and Lorient.

“In France, this street has a legitimacy,” said a protester in Nantes. “If Mr Macron can’t remember this historical fact, I don’t know what he’s doing here.”

Labor unions and leftist parties consider the day a success, but how the situation will develop from here on is an open question.

The government hopes the protests will lose momentum and the violence on the streets will push people away.

Opponents say protests won’t slow down, but unions will need to strategize for the coming days rather than committing to more days like Thursday.

There have been nine days of protests since January, and French trade unions have called for the 10th round next Tuesday.

Garbage collectors in Paris, who started their strike against pension reform on March 6, have extended the strike until next Monday.

Political unrest followed the government’s decision to force a bill raising the pensionable age without a vote through the lower house of parliament (which lacks an absolute majority).

French President Emmanuel Macron defended the move, saying reforms were necessary.