Paris: In a statement released on Saturday, the French police claimed that there were "serious risks of disturbances to public order" in two protest hotspots across from the parliament in Paris.
Following two nights of ferocious public protest against French President Emmanuel Macron's deeply unpopular decision to introduce neoliberal pension reforms without parliamentary approval, the "public thoroughfare in Place de la Concorde and its surroundings" and the area around Champs d'Elysees were deemed off-limits.
61 protesters were reportedly detained by police on Friday in the restricted areas after they threw bottles and fireworks at the heavily armed officers who had arrived to disperse the thousands-strong crowd.
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Tear petrol bursts from the police were their response. After protesters allegedly attempted to break into and steal from and burn down a town hall.
By 2030, the reform will raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 and mandate a 43-year minimum contribution period before employees are eligible for a full pension. According to Macron, the action was required to keep the nation from entering an unstoppable debt spiral.
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The move is opposed by two thirds of French voters, and opposition politicians claim there are other ways to close the fiscal gap, like raising taxes on the wealthy.
The extremely unpopular bill passed the Senate earlier this week, but Macron then rammed it through the National Assembly without a vote in accordance with Article 49.3 of the French Constitution, which states that laws can be passed as long as the government is not censured by a majority of MPs. He claimed that there was "too much uncertainty" to put it to a vote.
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Following Macron's actions, unions demanded a weekend of protest and a strike day on next Thursday, calling them "a complete denial of democracy."
No-confidence motions were submitted by opposition lawmakers on the left and the right on Friday, and sources told AFP that they would likely be discussed on Monday. However, in order to overthrow the government, these would need the support of half of the Republican opposition; this is unlikely, according to French media.
Invoking the Yellow Vest movement of pre-Covid France, a revolt that also focused on Macron's divisive neoliberal austerity plans, months of strikes and protests preceded the reform's passage.