Paris drowns in garbage amid strikes
Several unions are on strike to protest a pension reform, with garbage collectors among those to walk out. Now, streets are filling up with garbage and its stench. The strike is expected to last at least until Monday.
Weeks of protest in France
For weeks, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across France to protest against the government's planned pension reform. On Wednesday, too, people gathered for protest marches in the course of the afternoon — as here in Paris. Nationwide, police expect slightly fewer participants than last time: around 750,000 demonstrators.
Untold masses of trash
Critics say the planned increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 could be particularly hard on people in physically demanding jobs. Public sector workers have gone on strike, with garbage remaining uncollected in many cities for more than a week. Thousands of tons of garbage are already piling up on the streets of the capital, Paris, alone.
Rats in tourist hotspots
Rats are everywhere, one woman told the French AFP news agency: "It's disgusting. Some people can hardly get into their houses anymore." One German tourist said she had been wanting to take a romantic trip with her partner but that the trash had spoiled the city's charm. " Mark from the US complains, "It's unsanitary and not good for tourism."
Reform against the will of the people?
Around 70% of people in France reject the reform. Socialist Paris Mayor Anne Hildago is also backing the strikers. She is fully behind the protests, she declared on Monday: "If this affects people who work in the public sector — as well as those who are employed by private companies — then I say to the government: Talk to them!"
Waiting for action — but for how long?
It is not yet clear when the garbage trucks will leave their garage at the waste incineration plant in Ivry-sur-Seine. For Natacha Pommet, general secretary of the CGT General Confederation of Trade Unions, the government is responsible for the strike: "The problem is that we have a government that is desperate to implement a reform that the majority of people don't agree with."
Hopes for last-minute change of plan
Public sector workers wanted to continue striking at least until next Monday. Meanwhile, a mediation committee is meeting in Parliament. The government is confident that the Parliament will finally approve the reform on Thursday; the Senate has already agreed. The strikers, on the other hand, continue to hope that they will be able to stop the reform plans at the last minute.