Photos show hundreds of thousands of people protesting in France in the biggest strikes against Macron yet

James Pasley,James Pasley

Dec 6, 2019, 00:19 IST

Photos show hundreds of thousands of people protesting in France in the biggest strikes against Macron yet

Arnold Jerocki / Getty

Public and private workers demonstrate and shout slogans during a mass strike against pension reforms on December 05, 2019 in Marseille, France.

Hundreds of thousands of people are currently protesting across France.
The strikes are a response to President Emmanuel Macron's plans to unify France's generous, differing pension scheme.
Currently, there are 42 different schemes for different sectors. He wants a singular pension.
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France is at a standstill.

On Thursday, hundreds of coordinated strikes, featuring hundreds of thousands of people, have slowed the country. Trains and flights have been canceled. Schools have closed.

The strikes are in response to President Emmanuel Macron's plan to unify France's generous, differing pension scheme. Currently, there are 42 different schemes, and he wants to make it one.

The biggest demonstration was in Paris, but protesters planned strikes in 245 locations, including other major cities like Lyon and Marseille.

Here's what the strikes are like.

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.

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.

The biggest strikes are in Paris, but they're also going on in cities like Lyon and Marseille (seen here).

On Thursday morning in Paris, up to 6,000 police officers were ready to respond.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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."

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."

There's already been vandalism. Here's a broken electronic billboard.

And fire. Here, a scooter burns.

Flares are a common sight in these protests, too.

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.

But the lack of clarity and little trust in Macron has led people to conclude they could be negatively impacted.

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.

Despite the massive turnout, sociologist Stewart Chau told The Guardian the mood was of distrust and not defiance.

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."

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.

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