Protests Resume in France amid Anger at Macron's Pension Age Reform

Protesters hold a banner reading "all on strike" during a rally called by French trade unions in Toulouse, southwestern France, on January 19, 2023. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
Protesters hold a banner reading "all on strike" during a rally called by French trade unions in Toulouse, southwestern France, on January 19, 2023. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
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Protests Resume in France amid Anger at Macron's Pension Age Reform

Protesters hold a banner reading "all on strike" during a rally called by French trade unions in Toulouse, southwestern France, on January 19, 2023. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
Protesters hold a banner reading "all on strike" during a rally called by French trade unions in Toulouse, southwestern France, on January 19, 2023. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

Refinery strikes persisted on Saturday in France and more demonstrations were taking place throughout the country amid anger at the government pushing through a rise in the state pension age without a parliamentary vote.

The growing unrest, combined with rubbish piling up on the streets of Paris after refused workers joined in the action, has left President Emmanuel Macron with the gravest challenge to his authority since the so-called "Gilets Jaunes" (Yellow Vests) protests of December 2018, Reuters said.

Some 37% of operational staff at TotalEnergies' (TTEF.PA) refineries and depots - at sites including Feyzin in southeast France and Normandy in the north - were on strike on Saturday, a company spokesperson said.

Meanwhile rolling strikes continued on the railways.

Riot police clashed with protesters on Friday evening in Paris as a demonstration took place at the capital's Place de la Concorde, near the Assemblee Nationale parliament building, resulting in 61 arrests.

"There is no place for violence. One must respect parliamentary democracy," Digital Transition and Telecommunications Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told Sud radio.

A further rally was planned in Paris later on Saturday while BFM television showed images of demonstrations already taking place in cities such as Compiegne in the north, Nantes in the west and Saint-Etienne in central France.

A broad alliance of France's main unions has said it would continue to mobilize to try to force a U-turn on the changes. A day of nationwide industrial action is scheduled for Thursday.

While eight days of nationwide protests since mid-January, and many local industrial actions, had so far been largely peaceful, the unrest over the last three days is reminiscent of the Yellow Vest protests which erupted in late 2018 over high fuel prices, and which forced Macron into a partial U-turn on a carbon tax.

Macron's overhaul raises the pension age by two years to 64, which the government says is essential to ensure the system does not go bust.



Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Visits Sumy Region Bordering Russia’s Kursk Province

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 3, 2024. (Reuters)
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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Visits Sumy Region Bordering Russia’s Kursk Province

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 3, 2024. (Reuters)

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday he had visited the northern Sumy region, from where Ukraine launched a major incursion into the neighboring Russian Kursk region in August.

Almost two months into the surprise incursion, Kyiv's troops control swathes of Russian border territory, though the pace of the advance has slowed and Moscow's forces have begun to counterattack.

"It is crucial to understand that the Kursk operation is a really strategic thing, something that adds motivation to our partners, motivation to be with Ukraine, be more decisive and put pressure on Russia," Zelenskiy said on Telegram.

Shown alongside his top army commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, visiting the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, the president thanked the military for defending Ukraine's territorial integrity.

He said the incursion, which Ukraine says is bringing war back to Russia, "has greatly helped" Kyiv to secure the latest military support packages from the West.

"We need to motivate the whole world and convince them that Ukrainians can be stronger than the enemy," he told the servicemen.

Zelenskiy added that he had held a meeting with his military command, which had discussed the front lines and the energy situation in the Sumy region. Russia has been pummeling regional electricity infrastructure, leading to power cuts.