Dozens of arrests in protests against pension plan in France

He specified that 120 people were arrested in the demonstration of opponents of the pension reform, which aims to gradually increase the retirement age to 64 years in Paris, the capital of France.

Following the decision of the French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, to approve the reform bill, which seeks to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, without voting, opponents of the reforms took to the streets in different cities of the country and in Paris. Thousands of opponents of the reform gathered at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, near the National Assembly. Although there were moments of tension between the police and the protesters, the protesters evacuated from the square dispersed into the side streets.

Protesters set fire to cars and some public property, as well as garbage accumulated by the Paris street cleaners’ strike for days. It was reported that 120 people were detained during the demonstrations.

According to local media, the tensions occurred in the streets of different cities such as Nantes, Lyon and Rennes.

SECURITY REQUEST FROM THE MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR

Meanwhile, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has demanded increased security for elected officials, especially parliamentarians, who could be threatened. According to reports in the French press, Darmanin sent a statement to police chiefs following the tense events that took place across the country after the government voted on a bill that seeks to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 years.

In his statement, Darmanin instructed police chiefs to increase measures and be vigilant about the safety of French elected officials, noting that parliamentarians in particular are sometimes threatened, humiliated and insulted or their property damaged. The French Minister of the Interior described these acts of intimidation and violence as unacceptable. (AA)