Angry Crowd Heckles France’s Macron over Pensions

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with people during a visit in Selestat, eastern France, April 19, 2023. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with people during a visit in Selestat, eastern France, April 19, 2023. (Reuters)
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Angry Crowd Heckles France’s Macron over Pensions

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with people during a visit in Selestat, eastern France, April 19, 2023. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with people during a visit in Selestat, eastern France, April 19, 2023. (Reuters)

Protesters greeted French President Emmanuel Macron with boos and calls for him to resign in his first public appearance since he signed into law an unpopular rise in the retirement age.

Outside a factory he was visiting in the eastern Alsace region, Macron was faced with hostile banners and banging on pots. Electrical power inside the factory was also cut briefly.

Then as he walked through the crowd in a nearby village, many shouted "Macron, resign!" and one man told him: "We don't want this pension (reform), what don't you get?"

Another man told him he was leading a corrupt government and added: "You'll fall soon, just wait and see."

There were also some cheers, one man told him to "hang in there," a woman thanked him for his work and others asked for selfies.

But even in a region that is pro-Macron - it voted slightly more for him than the national average in the 2022 presidential election - the welcome was mostly hostile.

Macron signed into law at the weekend the rise in the retirement age which means citizens must work two years longer before receiving their state pension.

That was after three months of protests that gathered huge crowds and at times turned violent.

In the village of Selestat, Macron said he was fine with people expressing their discontent. "But the country must move forward," he said.

Earlier at the factory visit, he had also shrugged off the display of discontent, saying: "Pans won't help France move forward".

He said it was not possible for a society to listen only to those who "make the most noise" as he sought to highlight positive aspects of France's labor legalization.



Trump Insists Iran Nuclear Program Set Back 'Decades'

US President Donald Trump poses for a photo during a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman
US President Donald Trump poses for a photo during a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman
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Trump Insists Iran Nuclear Program Set Back 'Decades'

US President Donald Trump poses for a photo during a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman
US President Donald Trump poses for a photo during a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman

President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that US strikes led to the "total obliteration" of Iran's nuclear capabilities and set the country's atomic program back "decades", while Israel said it was still early to fully assess the damage.

Over a 12-day conflict, Israel pounded Iranian nuclear and military sites while Iran launched waves of missiles at its foe during their deadliest-ever confrontation.

The United States joined the fray in support of its ally, hitting two nuclear facilities with massive bunker-buster bombs over the weekend, while a guided missile from a submarine struck a third.

But leaked US intelligence cast doubt on the damage caused by American strikes, saying they had set back Tehran's nuclear program by just a few months.

"They're not going to be building bombs for a long time," said Trump, adding that the strikes had set back the program by "decades" and that the Iran-Israel ceasefire that he declared was going "very well".

Earlier, Israel's military said it was "still early" to assess the damage caused to Iran's nuclear program, AFP reported.

"I believe we have delivered a significant hit to the nuclear program, and I can also say that we have delayed it by several years," said Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin.

The head of Israel's military, Eyal Zamir, on Tuesday said Israel and the United States had set back Iran's nuclear program "by years".

But US media on Tuesday cited people familiar with the Defense Intelligence Agency intelligence report as saying the American strikes did not fully eliminate Iran's centrifuges or enriched uranium stockpiles.

The strikes sealed off entrances to some facilities without destroying underground buildings, according to the report.

Israel had said its bombing campaign, which began on June 13, was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, an ambition Tehran has consistently denied.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an address to the nation after the ceasefire, announced that "we have thwarted Iran's nuclear project".

"And if anyone in Iran tries to rebuild it, we will act with the same determination, with the same intensity, to foil any attempt," he said.