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In Pictures: Barricades set on fire in Paris as pension reform protests turn violent

Protesters angered by the French government's surprise move to force through its pension reform clashed with riot police in Paris on Thursday evening as barricades of garbage bins and trash were set on fire in the streets.

Published: 16 March 2023 22:50 CET

In Pictures: Barricades set on fire in Paris as pension reform protests turn violent

French firefighters operate on a fire during a demonstration near Place de la Concorde after the French government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote, using the article 49,3 of the constitution, in Paris on March 16, 2023. Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP

Earlier on Thursday a crowd of thousands gathered in front of the parliament in the historic Place de la Concorde in central Paris, watched over by riot police.

They had come together to protest the controversial move by President Emmanuel Macron’s government to force through their unpopular pension reform bill without putting it to the usual vote in the National Assembly.

Impressionnantes images de la Place de la #Concorde ce soir pic.twitter.com/yDsb329YIz

— Florent Derue (@florentderue) March 16, 2023

At around 8pm police used tear gas and water canon to clear protesters away after a fire was lit in the centre of the square, close to an Egyptian obelisk that has stood there for close to 200 years.

Following attempts to clear Place de la Concorde groups of protesters moved through central Paris where some set fire to the piles of rubbish that have been building in recent days after garbage collectors in Paris joined the strikes against the French government’s pension reform.

Barricades of burning trash were also formed to block streets around Place de la Madeleine and the famous Paris Opera house the Palais Garnier in the 8th arrondissment.

Groups of protesters also set fire to piles of rubbish on Rue Saint-Honoré, not far from the Elysée presidential palace.

🔴 DIRECT – Les poubelles dans les rues de #Paris sont incendiés à chaque coin de rue.

Les ordures n’ont pas été ramassés depuis plusieurs jours à cause de la grève. pic.twitter.com/fRSBnR26nL

— Clément Lanot (@ClementLanot) March 16, 2023

Scores of riot police moved through the centre of Paris firing tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters, some of whom responded by hurling objects at police. Shop fronts were also damaged.

Fire fighters were called in to put out the burning barricades.

Il est 22h00. Paris est en feu depuis maintenant 4h00. #revolution #Concorde #ReformedesRetraites pic.twitter.com/oIN2JrSHo5

— Florian Poitout (@FlorianPoitout) March 16, 2023

A French firefighter puts out a fire lit by protesters during a demonstration after the French government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote, using the article 49,3 of the constitution, in Paris on March 16, 2023.(Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

French firefighters (C) operate on a fire during a demonstration near Place de la Concorde (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP)

French police officers in riot gear operate during a demonstration on Place de la Concorde. Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP)

By around 10.30pm French police said at least 120 protesters had been arrested in the French capital on suspicion of seeking to cause damage.

There were similar clashes between protesters and police in the western city of Rennes as well as Lyon and Nantes.

Several stores were also looted during protests in the southern city of Marseille.

Antoine Bristielle, a public opinion expert at the Fondation Jean-Jaures think-tank, told AFP that enacting such an important law without a parliament vote risked further antagonising the country and deepening anti-Macron sentiment.

“It will give another boost to the protests. It could lead to more pressure on the government,” he said.

Later on Thursday Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin asked police authorities across France to give protection to local MPs and Senators.

This photograph taken in Paris on March 16, 2023 show a motor scooter burning during a demonstration after the French government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote, using the article 49,3 of the constitution. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

“I’m outraged by what’s happening. I feel like I’m being cheated as a citizen,” said Laure Cartelier, a 55-year-old schoolteacher who had come to express her outrage. “In a democracy, it should have happened through a vote.”

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Cohabitation

The far-right Rassemblement National of three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and current party leader Jordan Bardella are tipped to be the party with most seats after the second round on July 7th.

If the RN and its allies did secure a majority in the Assemblée Nationale – and current polling suggests this is doubtful – Macron would find himself in a “cohabitation“, in which the president and government are from opposing parties.

Post-war France has experienced three such forced marriages. All were between the left and the centre-right with the last from 1997-2002 between President Jacques Chirac and Socialist premier Lionel Jospin.

Cohabitation: What happens in France’s political ‘forced marriages’?

A cohabition between the Macron and his far-right arch-enemies would likely be a much unhappier affair.

While the far-right would be able to implement part of its domestic programme, on, for example, curtailing immigration, only the president can call a referendum or trigger a vote on constitutional changes.

The president, who usually sets foreign and defence policy, could also find his hands tied if the RN appointed nationalist defence and foreign ministers opposed to his worldview.

Coalition

France has spurned coalitions since the post-war 4th Republic (1946-1958) when the country went through 22 governments in 12 years.

Since losing his parliamentary majority in 2022, Macron has sought to cobble together alliances in parliament on a vote-by-vote basis or to force through legislation without a vote rather than form a pact with another party.

The RN or the left could try do the same if they fall short of a majority but a minority government of the far-right or left would likely fail to pass a vote of no confidence.

Aware of the risks, RN leader Bardella has said he will refuse to become prime minister unless he wins an outright majority.

Macron’s camp hopes that in the event of a hung parliament it could form a coalition with moderates of the left and right.

As part of its outreach to possible allies, Macron’s party has not entered candidates in 67 constituencies where centre-right or centre-left candidates are running.

But Macron has limited his options by putting the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) — the dominant force in the NFP — on a par with the far-right in what he calls the country’s “extremes”. He accuses LFI of anti-Semitism, which it rejects.

Caretaker government

Another option would be for Macron to appoint a technocratic non-partisan government which all parties could get behind.

Camille Bedock, a political scientist at the Emile Durckheim centre in Bordeaux, cites the example of Italy, where respected former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi formed a national unity government in 2021 when Italy was in turmoil. It lasted a year-and-a-half.

Bedock said Macron could also decide to leave the current government headed by his party’s Gabriel Attal in place in a caretaker capacity for a year. He could then call new elections.

This would have the benefit of ensuring continuity through the Olympic Games (July 26th – August 11th) when the country will be under intense global scrutiny.

Whether the far-right or left would support such a move, which would effectively buy Macron time to try turn around his presidency, is highly uncertain.

Macron resigns

The most dramatic scenario would see Macron resign if faced with the prospect of being neutered by the far right or the hard left.

Le Pen, who is expected to try succeed Macron in 2027 presidential polls, has warned that he “will have no choice but to resign” in the event of a “political crisis”.

Macron has vowed to remain on office until the end of his second term in 2027, whatever the outcome.

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