On Friday, agitated demonstrators commandeered the streets of Paris, aiming to coerce legislators into toppling the government of French President Emmanuel Macron and thwarting his unpopular proposal to raise the retirement age without a vote in the National Assembly, the Associated Press reported.
One day following Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne’s utilization of a unique constitutional authority to sidestep a vote in the tumultuous lower house, legislators on both sides of the political spectrum presented no-confidence proposals that are projected to be put to a vote in the beginning of next week.
Throughout Friday, large crowds gathered, causing traffic disruptions on a Parisian beltway and disrupting activities at university campuses. Additionally, sanitation workers continued their 12-day strike, resulting in vast amounts of foul-smelling waste piled up across the city and the shutdown of Europe’s largest incineration plant.
The leaders of the influential leftist CGT union have urged individuals to vacate schools, factories, refineries, and other workplaces in order to compel Macron to abandon his proposal to extend the retirement age by two years, requiring the French to work until the age of 64 in order to receive a full pension.
Written by staff
B.C. Begley 