Thousands Take to Streets of France to Protest Macron’s Plan to Raise State Pension Age Without Parliamentary Vote

Thousands of people took to the streets of France on Saturday night to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the state pension age without a parliamentary vote. The protests, which were largely non-violent, took place in Paris and other cities including Nantes and Marseille.

In Paris, protesters clashed with police and marched on the Champs-Elysées avenue and the elegant Place de la Concorde, where an effigy of Macron was thrown into a fountain. Demonstrators chanted “Macron, Resign!” and “Macron is going to break down, we are going to win.”

The protests come as uncollected garbage continues to pile up in the streets of the French capital due to a strike by sanitation workers. The unrest and strikes have left Macron facing the gravest challenge to his authority since the “Gilets Jaunes” (Yellow Vests) protests four years ago.

In response to the protests, municipal authorities banned rallies on Paris’s central Place de la Concorde and nearby Champ-Elysees on Saturday night. It is unclear how long the protests will continue, but it is clear that Macron is facing a significant challenge to his authority.