٠٠:٠٣:٢٩Hundreds of demonstrators rallied against the government’s pension reform outside the Basilica of Saint-Denis and the town hall on Tuesday, during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to attend a concert.
Footage shows huge crowds of protesters waving union flags and chanting as they pushed against a police barricade blocking entry to the street leading to the concert venue. A large banner was also put up next to the basilica, displaying the message, 'Macron, President Of The Rich Is Not Welcome In Saint-Denis'.
"This is provocation here, what did he come to do here? He refuses to talk with the unions, he refuses to talk with the people but he brings, I do not know, hundreds of police officers here. It's unbearable," a protester said.
According to local media, more than 300 demonstrators attended the rally. The protesters were kept at a safe distance from the French President by dozens of anti-riot police behind metal barricades.
Macron visited Saint-Denis to attend a concert at the Legion of Honor education house.
A day earlier, he delivered a primetime TV address defending his deeply unpopular changes to the national retirement age.
Macron promised new measures to improve salaries and working conditions, as well as education, law and order and healthcare, after signing off on his new pension reforms, which have led to huge protests across the country since they were announced in January.
“It was a very empty speech last night but his real problem is the debt. And so, who is going to pay the debt? He said no more taxes. We will give money to hospitals, to the schools but it is still him who is responsible for the situation, among others and his predecessors,” a second protester said.
The government passed the measures, which include raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, without a vote in the National Assembly, and the Constitutional Court approved the changes on Friday.
The administration has argued that the reforms are needed to maintain an affordable system. Following the president’s speech, workers’ unions vowed to continue the fight against the changes.
The leader of the CGT union, Sophie Binet, announced that additional protests are scheduled for April 20 and 28, while railway unions demanded a day of "anger" on April 20.
France: Hundreds of protesters rally against pension reform as Macron visits Saint-Denis
Hundreds of demonstrators rallied against the government’s pension reform outside the Basilica of Saint-Denis and the town hall on Tuesday, during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to attend a concert.
Footage shows huge crowds of protesters waving union flags and chanting as they pushed against a police barricade blocking entry to the street leading to the concert venue. A large banner was also put up next to the basilica, displaying the message, 'Macron, President Of The Rich Is Not Welcome In Saint-Denis'.
"This is provocation here, what did he come to do here? He refuses to talk with the unions, he refuses to talk with the people but he brings, I do not know, hundreds of police officers here. It's unbearable," a protester said.
According to local media, more than 300 demonstrators attended the rally. The protesters were kept at a safe distance from the French President by dozens of anti-riot police behind metal barricades.
Macron visited Saint-Denis to attend a concert at the Legion of Honor education house.
A day earlier, he delivered a primetime TV address defending his deeply unpopular changes to the national retirement age.
Macron promised new measures to improve salaries and working conditions, as well as education, law and order and healthcare, after signing off on his new pension reforms, which have led to huge protests across the country since they were announced in January.
“It was a very empty speech last night but his real problem is the debt. And so, who is going to pay the debt? He said no more taxes. We will give money to hospitals, to the schools but it is still him who is responsible for the situation, among others and his predecessors,” a second protester said.
The government passed the measures, which include raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, without a vote in the National Assembly, and the Constitutional Court approved the changes on Friday.
The administration has argued that the reforms are needed to maintain an affordable system. Following the president’s speech, workers’ unions vowed to continue the fight against the changes.
The leader of the CGT union, Sophie Binet, announced that additional protests are scheduled for April 20 and 28, while railway unions demanded a day of "anger" on April 20.
Hundreds of demonstrators rallied against the government’s pension reform outside the Basilica of Saint-Denis and the town hall on Tuesday, during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to attend a concert.
Footage shows huge crowds of protesters waving union flags and chanting as they pushed against a police barricade blocking entry to the street leading to the concert venue. A large banner was also put up next to the basilica, displaying the message, 'Macron, President Of The Rich Is Not Welcome In Saint-Denis'.
"This is provocation here, what did he come to do here? He refuses to talk with the unions, he refuses to talk with the people but he brings, I do not know, hundreds of police officers here. It's unbearable," a protester said.
According to local media, more than 300 demonstrators attended the rally. The protesters were kept at a safe distance from the French President by dozens of anti-riot police behind metal barricades.
Macron visited Saint-Denis to attend a concert at the Legion of Honor education house.
A day earlier, he delivered a primetime TV address defending his deeply unpopular changes to the national retirement age.
Macron promised new measures to improve salaries and working conditions, as well as education, law and order and healthcare, after signing off on his new pension reforms, which have led to huge protests across the country since they were announced in January.
“It was a very empty speech last night but his real problem is the debt. And so, who is going to pay the debt? He said no more taxes. We will give money to hospitals, to the schools but it is still him who is responsible for the situation, among others and his predecessors,” a second protester said.
The government passed the measures, which include raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, without a vote in the National Assembly, and the Constitutional Court approved the changes on Friday.
The administration has argued that the reforms are needed to maintain an affordable system. Following the president’s speech, workers’ unions vowed to continue the fight against the changes.
The leader of the CGT union, Sophie Binet, announced that additional protests are scheduled for April 20 and 28, while railway unions demanded a day of "anger" on April 20.