Bordeaux town hall set ablaze as French pension reform unrest grows
Unrest over pension reform in France grew on Thursday, with Bordeaux town hall set ablaze.
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Unrest over pension reform in France grew on Thursday, with Bordeaux town hall set ablaze.
French President Emmanuel Macron will address the country on Wednesday in a much-anticipated television interview, aimed at appeasing the anger against his pension reform adopted by force and explaining how he intends to overcome this crisis without changing his government or turning to voters.
Airlines Ryanair and easyJet have warned passengers heading to France that they could face major delays and possible cancellations due to strike action. Air traffic control staff are walking out in the country, impacting flights.
Could unions – for once, united – still force a climbdown over plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64? The next big day of strikes is planned for Thursday, but already anger is triggering wildcat walkouts and stoppages.
Elsewhere, it's been a brutal week for banks. Credit Suisse shares fell sharply again on Friday despite a respite when Switzerland's central bank stepped in on Thursday. Flashbacks to the 2008 financial crisis started last week when two midsized US banks failed. Silicon Valley Bank's tech startup investors got a bailout so they could pay their staff on time.
Under Charles de Gaulle's 1958 constitution, the French president is perfectly within his rights to force parliament's hand. But was it smart? We ask why Macron was so hellbent on raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 and whether it is all over. Unions vow to keep on striking and marching: even though the bill has passed, the street could still force the government to backtrack.
The unprecedented opening ceremony planned for the 2024 Paris Olympics, just 500 days away, promises to be both spectacular and a serious security headache, with the arrangements still being worked out by anxious officials. The vision, as announced by French President Emmanuel Macron, is to take the ceremony out of its customary location in the main stadium and put it in the heart of the capital. Sporting delegations are set to sail down the river Seine in boats, an armada of sporting excellence set against the backdrop of the capital's world-famous monuments in view of up to 600,000 cheering spectators.
Macron, who has promised an “unforgettable” curtain-raiser, hosted the Olympics’ organisers and business partners at the Élysée Palace to discuss preparations for the world’s biggest sporting event. He addresses several hundred civil servants involved in the effort in a speech at Paris police headquarters, on the banks of the River Seine, later Tuesday.