France is rocked on Tuesday by a new wave of nationwide protests and strikes after last week's rallies were overshadowed by some of the worst street violence in years.
Protests against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to push back the retirement age by two years, to 64, have been largely peaceful so far, but anger has escalated since the government pushed the bill through parliament without a vote in mid-March, with opinion polls saying things turned sour after footage showed Police violence.
Protesters from the "Black Bloc" group smashed shop windows, destroyed bus stops and looted a McDonald's branch in Paris during the latest day of protests across France. Other cities witnessed similar violence.
For his part, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin warned of "very real risks" that more violence could erupt today in the capital, Paris, and beyond. He said about 13,000 police would be deployed during the marches, and less than half of them would be in Paris. He added during a press conference (Monday) that groups belonging to the far left want to "burn France" and that some of them came from abroad.
The police advised owners of shops located in the protest route to close them today. Train and air services will be disrupted and some schools will be closed, as was the case in previous strike days, since mid-January.
Six of France's seven refineries were closed or operating at reduced capacity yesterday, and LNG ports were closed.
The government considered that the retirement bill is necessary so that the system does not go bankrupt, while unions and protesters believe that there are other ways to achieve this goal. Unions have asked Macron to withdraw the bill or suspend it for a while to calm things down. The legislation has been passed but has not yet been published pending review by the Constitutional Council. Macron replied that he was ready to talk to the unions, but about other matters.
Okaz (Paris, Jeddah) @OKAZ_ONLINE