‘1968 is happening again.’ Euronews reports on the French revolt against Macron’s rule.
By Euronews Brussels bureau
France is up in arms.
President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to trigger Article 49.3 of the French Constitution and pass his controversial pension reform without a parliamentary vote has proven to be the last straw.
The anger that had been boiling up for weeks has now turned into violent, chaotic protests that appear to exceed the movement’s original purpose. The last days have seen the looting of businesses, damages to street furniture, burning rubbish bins and even a town hall set ablaze.
Our correspondent Anelise Borges has been on the ground following the unrest in Paris and speaking with those who have turned against Macron’s governing ways.
“What we feel is strength. It’s in this kind of big demonstration that things change for real,” Mathis, a 23-year-old physics student, told her.
“I think the government is afraid of the youth because of its capacity to organise and be present everywhere all the time, to overwhelm, and that is clearly our objective: we want to overwhelm those who want to repress us, those who want to impose negotiations and compromise.”
The make-up of the protests is remarkably young, with thousands of students walking out of universities to denounce the pension reform, which raises the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64. Critics say the amendment will hit women and low-income workers the hardest.
“It’s essential that the youth rallies to trigger the radical aspect of this movement, to allow us to go out every day until the reform is scrapped. And we see the youth has that role to play,” says Youri, a 22-year-old student of computer science.
“It’s what happened in 1968 and it’s now happening again.”
Faced with one of the gravest crises since his arrival at l'Élysée, Emmanuel Macron has struck a defiant tone, saying he has no regrets over the policy that has split his country in two.
“If there is one thing I regret is that we have not been able to explain the necessity of this reform,” Macron said in a recent interview.
“When I started my working life, there were 10 million pensioners. Today there are 17 million. In 2030 there will be 20 million. Do you really think we can carry on with the same rules?”
But his insistence on demographic trends and economic forecasts has failed to quell the anger and frustration of the people he leads. Bypassing parliament to approve the pension reform has done nothing but reinforce the impression of Macron as a “distant, authoritarian” president, says Philippe Moreau Chevrolet, a professor at Sciences Po.
“Emmanuel Macron’s problem is that he communicates like a young person, but governs like an old person – with old people,” the professor told Anelise. “Young people want authenticity and that’s not what they have with him and so they revolt.”
The virulent fallout from the reform has been met with a forceful police response, sparking accusations of arbitrary arrest and physical abuse.
“They were making jokes as if beating protesters was a normal thing. They joked about what a baton could do to someone's head, things like that,” remembers 18-year-old Jules.
“They caught me and hit me. It was quite humiliating. It was like: look down, shut up, face the wall, do as you’re told…,” says Solal, another 18-year-old protester.
Although the intensity of the protests has begun to ebb, it’s still too soon to tell how the movement will evolve and how long it will resonate among the French electorate. Macron still has four years to complete his second mandate and plenty of policy goals to pursue. This time around, though, one thing is different: the president is no longer bound by the prospect of re-election.
 Watch Anelise’s full report on Euronews Witness.
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