French protests deepen

Umair Jalali describes the French protests deepen

Despite his astonishing comeback in French protests deepen politics, President Emmanuel Macron has once again shown that he is seriously accident-prone and can devise policies that can cause widespread public fury. While France is, of course, no stranger to grassroots protest movements, most recently the revolt of the gilets jaunes four years ago but this time round what is irritating the people more is Macron’s defiance that is radically different to his response to the previous protests. This time the issue provoking public ire is Macron’s divisive new pension reform bill which includes a provision to raise the legal age of retirement from 62 to 64. While many already opposed the bill, the president has inspired further democratic outrage by forcing it through parliament without a vote in the National Assembly and this move appeared to many in France to stretch his executive power to its outer limit.

On top of it, in order to achieve his aim, Macron invoked Article 49.3 of the constitution of the Fifth Republic which recognises that a curbing of parliamentary oversight can become necessary in emergency conditions and states. Macron’s Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne duly enacted his wishes prompting two no-confidence motions to be launched against the government, a safety brake permitted under the article. Both motions, however, were rejected by the lower chamber further enraging the street protesters. The bill still faces a review by the Constitutional Council before it can be formally signed into law and the council is in a position to reject articles within the measure if they are felt not to be in line with the constitution. However, opponents of the measure argue that the text as a whole should be thrown out altogether.

While the crisis is getting deep by the day, Macron is emphasising implementation of his policy and has gone to the extent of comparing the extreme violence seen in recent days to the deadly US Capitol riot of 6 January 2021 and insisted he did not care about sacrificing his popularity for a principle by stating that between polls and the general interest of the country, he would choose the general interest. He appears adamant about the matter stating that his reforms need to be implemented by the end of the year as a matter of financial necessity that cannot be achieved by simply introducing higher taxes for the wealthy but his superior manner entirely failed to calm the tensions. Consequently, his opponents branded Macron’s performance as outlandish and mentioned that the best response that could be given to the president is for millions of people to strike and come on to the streets. They point out that he is fanning the flames and that Macron’s insistence that the streets have no legitimacy is sheer nonsense.

In the meanwhile ten days of intense protests have taken place that have become increasingly violent with the unions vowing not to letup in mass protests to get the government to back down. Hundreds of arrests have been made, Molotov cocktails thrown and tear gas dispersed in crowd clashes nationwide while essential services have been disrupted, oil and gas deliveries stalled and tourist attractions like the Eiffel Tower closed to shield them from vandalism. More than a million people are believed to have taken part in strikes with 119,000 people marching through Paris as videos of chaos and looting flooded social media, including footage of both riot police and activists being led away from the fray injured. Some 441 police officers were injured and 475 people are understood to have been arrested amidst the ensuing chaos across the country with demonstrators blocking airports and railway stations.

With the protests unlikely to go away unless Macron does reverse course and withdraw the bill as it is commented that he needs to do it quick as the consequences of the widespread shutdown and violence has already forced British King Charles to postpone his visit to Paris. The King and Queen Consort Camilla were due to embark on their three-day trip with a visit to the Musee d’Orsay, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe and a lavish dinner at Versailles on the itinerary, a display of wealth, privilege and power decidedly at odds with the revolutionary mood prevailing in France. The ugly mood could be gauged by the fact that the institution in charge of providing ceremonial decoration for public buildings had refused to roll out the red carpet for the British monarch who does not enjoy the same popularity in France as his late mother did.

Amidst all pandemonium Emmanuel Macron came under fire for removing a luxury watch during television interview about raising pension age in France Further angering his critics, the embattled French president could be seen briefly putting his hands beneath the table and apparently taking off his watch during a prime-time national television broadcast. Opposition politicians seized on the moment to insist that the president of the rich has never lived up to his name so well, juxtaposing the move with his claims in the interview about minimum wage earners who have never had so much purchasing power. However, the Elysee Palace insisted that Macron had not removed the watch in order to hide it but instead because it was clinking against the table. The palace denounced claims that the watch was worth €80,000 with sources stating that he was wearing the same Bell & Ross BR V1-92 watch which he has worn regularly for more than 18 months and it costs around €3,300 or less. TW