President Macron’s pension reforms have once again sparked large street protests in France. Today, the Constitutional Council wants to have the final word on the project. Will the strikes and protests end after that?

In France, hundreds of thousands of people have again protested President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform – and the Constitutional Council wants to judge its legality on Friday. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 380,000 people took part in the protests across the country. Unions spoke for more than a million participants.

The protests, which were initially peaceful for several weeks, have recently repeatedly led to violence and clashes. In Paris, banks and expensive department stores shielded their shop windows with wooden boards as a precaution. It was planned that 11,500 police would be deployed, 4,200 of them in Paris.

Union threatens to spread garbage in Paris

Roads, railways and refineries have been closed across the country – but so far the damage has been kept under control. The Paris garbage collectors went on strike again, and the CGT union threatened to turn the capital into a public dump until the reform was withdrawn. In March, huge mountains of waste accumulated during a three-week strike by garbage workers in Paris.

Also in Paris, protesters stormed the headquarters of French luxury group LVMH and set off firecrackers.

Protests also in Nantes and Rennes

Clashes between demonstrators and police were reported from Nantes and Rennes. The protests are directed against the gradual increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. With the reform now passed, the central government wants to fill the imminent gap in the pension fund. The dispute was exacerbated by the fact that the government pushed through the text without a vote by the National Assembly.

Macron advocates reform – but is ready for dialogue

President Emmanuel Macron wants the reform to go into effect by the end of the year. Macron defended his controversial reforms against sustained criticism on Wednesday and promised dialogue with unions.

The country must continue to make progress and wants to talk to the social partners about how things are going. Reform is necessary, public budgets must be balanced.

The Constitutional Council decides on the legality of reform

On Friday, the Constitutional Council will announce the result of examining the reform draft. He can cancel part or all of the reform or declare it constitutional.

A large police force protected the Constitutional Council building, which had been passed by the Parisian rally. If the Constitutional Council essentially confirms the reform, then there is no longer any possibility of reducing or abolishing the trade unions of the project.

Upcoming protests already announced

However, the union said there would be more demonstrations. CFDT union president Laurent Berger has already mentioned May 1st as the next day of protest. „This will not be the last day of work,” said new CGT union leader Sophie Binet.

Macron’s call for dialogue was met with alarm. Binet said they wanted to talk to Macron for a month. The meeting in which everything is decided is meaningless.