Photos show hundreds of thousands of people protesting in France in the biggest strikes against Macron yet
France is weathering what The Guardian called the biggest strike of Emmanuel Macron's presidency. Hundreds of demonstrations are planned across the country, and while numbers haven't been confirmed, French newspaper Le Monde said more than 180,000 people would be taking part.
According to The New York Times, such widespread participation points to "deep social discontent." Its effects will be widely felt as trains and flights are canceled, and schools are closed.
Source: The New York Times
The strikes began on Wednesday night, when rail workers walked off their shifts and buses returned to depots. As this desolate train station shows, rail services almost came to a complete standstill. More than 80% of drivers went on strike, and 90% of regional trains were canceled.
Sources: The Guardian, The New York Times
The biggest strikes are in Paris, but they're also going on in cities like Lyon and Marseille (seen here).
Source: The New York Times
On Thursday morning in Paris, up to 6,000 police officers were ready to respond.
Sources: The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC, Independent
There were concerns that the protests could turn violent. By 3.30 p.m. local time, 9,350 people had had their bags checked by riot police. By 5 p.m., 87 people had been detained.
Sources: The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC
Police checked protesters last year, too, during the "yellow vest" protests, to ensure violent activists didn't make it to key protest areas. Those protests began over diesel tax increases, but ended up canvasing general discontent over the cost of living and the economy.
Sources: The New York Times, BBC
These protests are because Macron wants to overhaul France's pension system — one of the most generous in the world. His government wants to unify the system to make it financially stable. Currently, there are 42 different pension schemes for different sectors. Between them, the retirement age and the amount retirees are paid differs.
Sources: The Guardian, BBC, The New York Times
Macron campaigned for the change when he ran for president in 2017. He's said it's an unfair system, which is overly complicated and expensive.
Source: CNBC
But changing the system is a perilous move for the president. People from a variety of industries, including lawyers, law enforcement, hospital workers, airport workers, and transport workers, are angry that a new scheme could lead to reduced payouts, or make them work longer and retire later.
Sources: BBC, The New York Times
Teachers are also joining the protests. Seven in 10 elementary school teachers were expected to go on strike. This placard reads, "I am an angry teacher."
Source: The New York Times
Firefighters lay on the ground to demonstrate. They've been protesting over staffing levels, pensions, and their remuneration. One firefighter told The Guardian, "This is about getting proper recognition from the government for what firefighters do. People are very sensitive to the state of public services."
Source: The Guardian
Opposing political parties have joined in, too. Here, members of the French parliament, Adrien Quatennens and Mathilde Panot are seen protesting.
Macron wants to merge public and private pension schemes into a single state-run system. But union leaders are resistant. One union official told the BBC, "What we've got to do is shut the economy down. People are spoiling for a fight."
Sources: The New York Times, BBC
There's already been vandalism. Here's a broken electronic billboard.
And fire. Here, a scooter burns.
It's unusual that the strikes are taking place across France, even though it's not clear how exactly the pension system will change. There's been no official announcement, and any proposal will not be debated in parliament until next year.
Sources: CNBC, The New York Times
But the lack of clarity and little trust in Macron has led people to conclude they could be negatively impacted.
Sources: CNBC, The New York Times
One thing's clear. Macron will be hoping to avoid a repeat of a general strike that swept across France for three weeks in 1995. Then, millions protested until the government backtracked on its attempt to change how the pension system worked.
Source: BBC
Despite the massive turnout, sociologist Stewart Chau told The Guardian the mood was of distrust and not defiance.
Sources: The Guardian, The New York Times
But the turnout could also be a reflection of France. As one traveler told The New York Times, when people strike in France, "they don't do it halfway."
Source: The New York Times
Union leaders have said the strikes could continue until Macron relents on trying to change the pension scheme. At the very least, the strikes will likely continue on after today.
Source: BBC
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