Police clashed with protesters across France over pension reform. At least 108 police officers were injured. The country's interior minister said this.
French Interior Minister G. Gerald Dermenin said it is not very often that so many policemen are injured together. He also said that 291 people were arrested during the conflict.
Hundreds of thousands of people took part in May Day protests against French President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms. Most of the protesters were peaceful. However, some extremists threw petrol bombs. The police also fired tear gas shells and water cannons in response. It is not known how many protesters were injured in the clash.
Massive protests, clashes, arrests 457 in France
French President Emmanuel Macron is raising the retirement age of civil servants from 62 to 64. Protests are going on against it.
Protesters clashed with security forces in France. This clash took place in several cities including Paris, the capital of France, last Thursday. It was the most violent incident in three months of protests against the French government's proposed retirement policy. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said 457 people had been arrested for protesting against President Machon's retirement policy. 441 members of security forces were injured in last Thursday's clashes.
On Friday morning, Darmanin told the CNews channel that protesters set fire to 903 places on the streets of Paris. That fire has been extinguished. Darmanin said, there have been massive protests across the country. In some places, the protests turned violent. Paris is one of them. According to the French Interior Ministry, about 1 million 89 thousand people took part in protests in various places across the country on Thursday. 190,000 people participated in the protest in Paris alone. It was the largest gathering in the capital city since protests began last January. However, the largest number of people across the country participated in the March 7 protests. According to official estimates, a total of 12 lakh 80 thousand people joined the protest at various places that day.
Hundreds of black-clad radical protesters in Paris broke windows of banks, shops, and fast-food restaurants and destroyed street equipment, police warned.
Protesters grew angrier last Wednesday after the French president called for pension reform to be urgent. On this day, Makhon said that he is ready to accept it even if his popularity decreases while doing this reform. Before this, a survey last Sunday showed that Makhon's popularity has dropped to 28 percent.
Darmanin, known as a hard-line interior minister in the Makhon government, rejected the protesters' demands. He said, 'The retirement policy that was adopted last week will remain. We will not take it down because of violence. If protests are lifted, the state will cease to exist. We are ready for democratic debate or social debate but do not want violent debate.
A fire broke out on the balcony of a municipal building in the southeastern city of Bordeaux on Thursday. British King Charles III is scheduled to visit there next Tuesday. This is Charles' first foreign visit as a British monarch. However, it is feared that King Charles' visit will be affected as protesters announced a new protest program on Tuesday. Some of the protesters set fire to the streets.
Bordeaux mayor Pierre Harmick said, "This kind of violence is difficult to understand and accept." Why are Bordo people being targeted? I strongly condemn it.
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