French police and protesters clashed again on Saturday as campaigners in the south-west of the country tried to stop the construction of large water storage facilities.
Violent clashes in Saint-Salon against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms have continued for several days, forcing the cancellation of a visit by Britain’s King Charles III.
Protests against pension reforms have become the biggest crisis of Macron’s second term, with daily clashes between police and protesters in Paris and other cities since last week.
More than a million people are believed to have taken part in the strikes on Thursday, the biggest day of protests to date. About 200,000 people are marching in Paris.
Some 441 police officers have been injured and 475 arrested so far in what has been dubbed ‘Black Thursday’, putting renewed pressure on French President Emmanuel Macron to find a way out of the conflict. .
Several protesters and members of the security forces were injured in clashes during the protest in Saint-Salon on Saturday. Campaigners there are trying to stop the construction of large-scale water ‘basins’ to irrigate crops, which they say will affect access to water in drought conditions.
According to organizers, a long procession of workers headed to the site late in the morning, which local officials said included at least 6,000 people. Organizers said that while the country is standing up to defend pensions, we will also stand up to defend water.
AFP correspondents say that when they arrived at the construction site, which was being defended by the police, clashes broke out between the extremist activists and the security forces.
The authorities had deployed more than 3,000 police officers and paramilitary forces to protect the site. Protesters hurled various missiles including improvised explosive devices while the police used tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.
According to the latest data from the prosecutor’s office, seven protesters were injured, three of whom had to be taken to hospital. Two journalists are also among the injured.
A coalition of activist groups behind the protests say 200 of their comrades have been injured and one is fighting for his life, but this has not been confirmed by authorities.
In a tweet supporting the work of the emergency services there, Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne condemned the ‘unbearable wave of violence’ in Saint-Saillon.
Interior Minister Gerald Derminen also condemned the violence, blaming “far-left and ultra-left” elements.
Eleven people were detained after police seized weapons, including petanque balls and knives, as well as explosives.
Although not directly linked to the anti-pension reform campaign, clashes over the construction of water reservoirs have added to tensions in an increasingly challenging situation for the government.
The government is bracing for another tough day on Tuesday when unions are set to stage yet another round of strikes and protests.
Recent scenes in France have caused consternation abroad. The Times of London captioned a photo of the piles of rubbish: ‘Chaos reigns in France.’
In France, President Macron has faced accusations from the left that he removed a luxury watch in the middle of a television interview on Wednesday, fearing that images of the timepiece would further damage his reputation. can deliver
‘I will not give up’
The uproar over legislation to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 began after lawmakers last week used a controversial executive power to push the plan through parliament without a vote.
A strike by garbage collectors against the reforms has left the streets of the capital littered with garbage.
But there has also been controversy over the tactics used by French security forces to quell the protests.
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On Friday, the Council of Europe warned that violence in protests “cannot justify the excessive use of force.”
Makers declined to make concessions, saying in a television interview on Wednesday that they would be “implemented by the end of the year.”
He said: ‘Do you think I am enjoying these reforms? No, these reforms are not a luxury, they are not a pleasure, they are a necessity.’
The daily Le Monde said Macron’s “inflexibility” is now worrying even “his own supporters” in the ruling party.
In another sign of the tense atmosphere, Aurore Bridge, leader of the Macron faction in parliament, posted a handwritten letter on Twitter threatening her four-month-old baby with physical violence. Since then, solidarity has been expressed with him in the political arena.
After the ‘Yellow West’ protests that rocked the country four years ago, it remains unclear how the government will end the latest crisis.
Bourne is under particular pressure, but she told a conference on Saturday: ‘I will not give up on reaching a compromise. I am here to find agreements and to introduce the necessary changes for my country and for the French.’