Protests broke out in France over Labor Day against the retirement law

By: Hana Abu Al-S

Monday, May 01, 2023 03:33 PM

During the celebration of “Labor Day”, which the trade union promised to be a “historic day”, a large number of demonstrators gathered, many citizens organized mass rallies in the city of “Toulouse” in southwestern France, and according to the number of unions, the demonstrators were estimated at about one hundred thousand people, while the French Police registered 13,500 demonstrators.

On the evening of Friday, April 14, the Constitutional Council approved the most important articles of the pension law, which is Article 7, which provides for raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, which is not very popular in French. Street. While rejecting six articles related to the employment contract for the elderly, it also approved other articles included in the new law.

Soon after, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a decree officially reforming the retirement system, hours after approval by the Constitutional Council, and the decision was published in the official gazette on the morning of Saturday, April 15, and later announced in a televised address. The law will come into force from next autumn.Turning to the pension law, the country will announce other reform plans in the coming period.

It was supposed to end a wave of anger that had lasted more than three months, but the union vowed to continue the demonstrations, and set a date of May 1 to coincide with “Labor Day” for mass demonstrations across the country. Anticipating a “historic mobilization” against promulgation of formal legislation.

Between 500,000 and 650,000 people are expected to take part in 300 marches across France, a record number compared to previous mass rallies. Interior Minister Gérald Dormanin announced the mobilization of 12,000 police and gendarmerie personnel. , including 5,000 in Paris.