Thousands of people took part in May Day protests across France on Sunday to call for social justice and better wages, as well as pressure re-elected President Emmanuel Macron to abandon plans to raise the minimum age for retirement in the country. parents.
Most of the acts were peaceful, but in Paris security agents intervened after black bloc protesters tried to barricade a street near Republic Square, according to police.
A McDonald’s fast-food chain store and a real estate agency in Leon Blum Square were also looted, and the windows of both establishments were smashed and garbage cans were set on fire.
The cost of living was the main issue in the election and is expected to remain a major issue for the legislative vote in June, in which Macron’s party and its allies will have to win to implement their pro-market policies, including raising the age. retirement age from 62 to 65 years.
Around 250 demonstrations were organized in Paris and in cities such as Lille, Nantes, Toulouse and Marseille. In the capital, unions took part in the rallies alongside politicians – most of them on the left – and activists against the climate crisis. Many of those who marched carried signs like “retirement before arthritis”, “retirement at 60 and frozen prices” and “out of Macron”.
“The stronger the mobilization on this 1st of May, the more we will be able to put pressure on government policies,” said Philippe Martinez, CGT (General Confederation of Labor) leader, before the start of the acts. “The government will have to deal with the problem of purchasing power by increasing wages.”
Macron was re-elected for a new five-year term at the head of the Élysée Palace after defeating the ultra-right Marine Le Pen in the second round, held last Sunday. The ultra-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who finished third on the first lap, attended the march in Paris.
He wants to unite the left, including the Greens, to dominate Parliament and put pressure on Macron, but so far that arrangement has not materialised. “We will not make any concessions in the retirements”, affirmed Mélenchon. The defeated candidate also said he was hopeful that a pact to build a new leftist “people’s union” would be agreed by Sunday night.
Unlike in previous years, Le Pen did not place a wreath on the Joan of Arc statue, which her party uses as a nationalist symbol. She was replaced by the acting president of the National Reunion, Jordan Bardella, who said the loser was preparing for legislative elections.
In a video, Le Pen asked voters to support as many deputies from her party as possible in June, which she said could protect purchasing power and prevent Macron from implementing “a project dangerous for France and for the French people.” “. The election will take place on the 12th and 19th of June.
