Thousands of demonstrators gathered on Friday evening at Place de la Concorde in Paris to protest against the controversial pension reform carried out by the government.
Clashes and violence between demonstrators and the police punctuated this rally, the day after a chaotic day in the Assembly and the triggering of article 49.3 by the government to have its decried pension reform project adopted. without a vote in the National Assembly.
“The square was almost evacuated, after numerous charges, and eleven individuals were arrested”, report local media from police sources.
Friday morning, “punch” actions and blockages concerned several sectors as part of the union mobilization against the pension reform project, while Paris was transformed into an open dump, following the strike garbage collectors which has been going on for about ten days.
Thursday evening, violence and clashes between demonstrators and police punctuated spontaneous rallies, organized in several French cities, after the government’s decision to activate article 49.3.
The head of government, Elisabeth Borne, on Thursday, engaged the responsibility of her government by resorting to article 49 paragraph 3 of the Constitution to pass the controversial pension reform project, a few hours after the text received the green light from the Senate.
The government’s decision aroused the anger and indignation of the oppositions who denounced a “denial” and a democratic “shock” on the part of the executive and a “shame” for French democracy.
Two motions of censure were tabled on Friday in an attempt to overthrow the government while the intersyndicale, bringing together the main unions in the country, called for a new day of strikes and demonstrations for Thursday March 23, the ninth since the January 19.