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The Pension Reform Protests in France
In the context of a wave of protests in France against the pension reforms, it is necessary to ask: How did the pension reform law take shape despite public and legislative opposition, reach this point of violent contestation, and what do the protests bode for the future of a discontented republic?
The last few months in France have been marked by strikes following the Macron government’s pension reform. The strikes saw widespread violence between protestors and police, burnt townhall doors in Bordeaux, rubbish piled in many streets and banks vandalised in many of France’s major cities. It seemed like a political dead end for President Emannuel Macron who signed the pension reform law into effect on the night of 15 April 2023. As France took to the streets again to protest on May Day, we ask: How did the pension reform law take shape despite public and legislative opposition, reach this point of violent contestation, and what do the protests bode for the future of a discontented republic?
The Paramount Law of Macron’s Presidency