France ‘burning’ as violent pension reform protests cause fuel shortages, mass arrests

France is “burning” after a government move sparked the biggest nationwide protest in history, complete with fuel shortages, mass arrests and wild claims the crisis now resembles “civil war”.

Under the country’s controversial pension reforms – a key part of President Emmanuel Macron’s 2022 re-election campaign – the retirement age would gradually rise from 62 to 64, lifting by three months per year from September 2023 until 2030.

From 2027, employees would also be required to make social security contributions over 43 years instead of 42 in order to obtain a full pension.

Mr Macron claims the reforms are necessary to prevent the pension system from collapsing, but millions have already taken to the streets in anger in recent months.
 

And last week, the fury stepped up a notch after the government resorted to Article 49.3 of the constitution to force the bill through parliament without a vote.

There have been increasingly violent scenes emerging since then, with millions of protesters taking to the streets, lighting fires, blocking roads, throwing projectiles, barricading universities and causing power outages.

Major fuel shortages are also impacting service stations across the country due to protesters blocking major locations, with the biggest nationwide protest on record for France recorded this week, with rallies held in more than 200 separate areas.

There has also been widespread industrial action across scores of sectors, with tonnes of garbage piling up in the streets of Paris with the city’s garbage collectors striking since March 6 along with workers in the oil, gas, electricity, transport and education industries.On Tuesday, Mr Macron narrowly survived no-confidence votes over the reforms, meaning they are now all but certain to go ahead.
 

“The reform is adopted but it is not seen as legitimate in the eyes of French people,” political scientist Jerome Jaffre told France Inter radio on Tuesday.

“That’s a source of problems, of bitterness, and it’s far from being resolved.”

France facing ‘social explosion’

In a sign of just how serious the current crisis has become, far-right leader Marine Le Pen has accused President Macron of pushing France to the edge of “social explosion”.

“Consciously the government is creating all the conditions for a social explosion, as if they were looking for that,” she told AFP.

It was a sentiment echoed by many commentators, including the popular Wall Street Silver Twitter account, which shared confronting footage of protesters clashing with police and asked “is France is on the brink of civil war?”

The account also shared footage of a fuel depot being blocked by protesters as police officers retreat, describing the chaotic scene as the “French Revolution version 2.0”, along with other footage showing Paris “burning”.

The biggest nationwide protest on record for France...

?? Protests in over 200 areas across France.

Is France is on the brink of civil war?

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— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) March 21, 2023

FRANCE - Fuel depot blocked by protesters. Police being forced to retreat. Confrontations between police and protesters are happening across France.

French Revolution version 2.0

?pic.twitter.com/m6vAbKYetZ

— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) March 21, 2023

According to Le Monde, on Monday this week, “50 per cent of filling stations lacked one or more fuels in the southeastern region of Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur, requiring local authorities to limit sales until Thursday”.

The filling of jerry cans was also barred, with “many areas of the west of France” also impacted by the closure of the Donges refinery.
 

Citing France’s petrol industry union, the publication also revealed 7 per cent of the nation’s 11,039 petrol stations were impacted by fuel shortages as of Monday, a number which meant people in major cities in particular would be “suffering”.

And the problem is even more critical in certain areas, such as Marseilles, where around half of petrol stations are reporting shortages, with an estimated 40 per cent completely closed in Bouches-du-Rhône.
 

As of Monday, around 986 stations across France were plagued by partial shortages with 739 running out of fuel completely, according to the collaborative website Penurie.mon-essence.fr, which also compiled an alarming map of the affected stations, which was then shared widely on social media.

Meanwhile, the country is bracing for more chaos on Thursday, when trade unions are planning to hold yet more protests and strike action.

Mr Macron has confirmed he will appear on a TV interview on Wednesday local time, but insiders claim there is no chance of a referendum, snap election or cabinet reshuffle being announced to resolve the emergency.

– With AFP