French Protesters furious at French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms resumed with scattered actions on Friday, as the disquiet across the country forced officials to postpone a planned state visit by Britain’s King Charles III.
Although no major protests were planned on Friday, train traffic was slowed, rows of trucks jammed access to Marseille’s commercial port, and debris still littered the Paris streets following the previous day’s mass protests.
Over 450 protesters were captured in Paris and beyond on Thursday as some 300 demonstrations pulled more than a million people nationwide to protest against disliked pension reforms.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Friday that some 441 police and gendarmes were wounded as violence stained some marches. He added that 1,000 trash bins were set on fire in the French capital during the last day’s action.
Macron’s office declared that a state visit by the Britain King was postponed. He had been scheduled to land in France on Sunday on his first state visit as monarch, before heading to Germany on Wednesday.
Polls say most French disagree with Macron’s bill to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, which he says is required to keep the system afloat. The supply of fuel to Paris by the enormous Gonfreville-L’Orcher refinery in Normandy continued Friday after police interfered, according to Energy Transition Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
Worrying troubles in the future days as actions continue, France’s Civil Aviation Authority has requested that a third of flights be canceled Sunday at Paris’ second airport, Orly, with 20% to be canceled Monday.
Unions have called for further protests and strikes on Tuesday, the day King Charles III had planned to visit Bordeaux. The weighty wooden door of the elegant Bordeaux City Hall was demolished by fire Thursday night by people taking part in an unauthorized demonstration.
The mayor of Bordeaux, Pierre Hurmic, said on Friday that he had difficulty understanding the interest of such acts of vandalism.
The protests have pulled support from outside France’s borders. In Greece, hundreds of protesters gathered beyond the French Embassy in Athens on Thursday to show solidarity.
Protesters chanted slogans and held placards that read “Macron, your democracy hangs on nine votes” and “From Greece: victory for the workers of France.”
