The essential
- Since Thursday evening, thousands of “angry” or “revolted” demonstrators have gathered in several cities in France to protest against the pension reform and the triggering of article 49.3. Gatherings sometimes marked by tensions.
- In several cities, marches were held and calls for blocking were made. In Paris, where gatherings at Place de la Concorde and on the Champs-Élysées were banned, 76 people were arrested and clashes broke out.
- The day after 49.3, the Liot group and the National Rally filed a motion of censure.
- The SNCF unions have called for the continuation of the strike started on March 7.
9:44 p.m. – 71 arrests
The police made 71 arrests in Paris during the demonstration marked by excesses, says a police source. The prefect of police also ordered to intervene “as soon as the abuses were committed”.
8:52 p.m. – The police charge in Paris
The police intervened, in particular the Motorized Violent Action Repression Brigades (BRAV-M), and used tear gas, according to AFP-TV on the spot. The police intervened “for disturbers who try to create barricades and set fire to garbage cans”, commented a police source. “Given the presence of many thugs, the organizer calls for dispersal,” assured the same source.
8:36 p.m. – 4,000 demonstrators in Paris
Tensions between demonstrators and the police arose on Saturday, on the sidelines of a parade at the initiative of the CGT Ile-de-France which brought together several thousand people in the south of Paris to denounce the use of 49.3 to pass the pension reform. Leaving around 6 p.m. from Place d’Italie towards the small alleys of Butte-aux-Cailles, the demonstration brought together “4,000 people”, according to a police source.
8:15 p.m. – Police charges on the Parisian procession
The police are trying to push back the Parisian procession. Several tear gas shots were fired. Barricades were set on fire.
8:01 p.m. – Garbage cans burned on the sidelines of the Parisian procession
On the sidelines of the Parisian procession, demonstrators set fire to garbage cans near the Porte d’Ivry.
6:42 p.m. – The strike hardens in the refineries
The seven refineries in France have suspended shipments of the fuels produced there on numerous occasions since January. Since the beginning of the conflict, their employees did not want to take this step, the shutdown of these huge industrial facilities and their restart being very heavy. However, since the use of 49.3, the situation has changed. “The units have been stopping since last night,” the refinery’s CGT secretary general, Alexis Antonioli, told Agence France-Presse on Saturday. This shutdown will take several days and should not cause immediate fuel shortages at service stations.
6:30 p.m. – Demonstrations under tension in Nantes and Brest
Between 6,000 and 15,000 opponents of the pension reform, according to the police or the unions, marched on Saturday in Nantes, and 5,000 to 8,000 in Brest, during demonstrations marked by tensions with the police. The anti-crime brigade arrested at least four demonstrators in Nantes.
5:54 p.m. – The RATP closes the metro stations in the Place de la Concorde sector
By order of the Paris police headquarters, all metro stations in the Concorde sector are closed. No recovery is planned at this time.
5:34 p.m. – Paris: demonstration against “police violence”
Some demonstrators who left the Place de la République in Paris intended to demonstrate against “police violence”, denouncing “State crimes”.
5:27 p.m. – A fire occurs in a shopping street in Bordeaux
A fire was lit with mattresses and street furniture in a busy central street in Bordeaux. Residents extinguished it almost entirely before the arrival of firefighters.
4:42 p.m. – The police intervene in Bordeaux
As the demonstrators left the Place de la Victoire to take the pedestrianized rue Sainte-Catherine, the police intervened to prevent the burning of garbage cans by certain troublemakers.
4:40 p.m. – Despite the ban, calls to demonstrate at Place de la Concorde are increasing on social networks
The prefecture banned this Saturday afternoon any gathering at Place de la Concorde and on the Champs-Élysées. However, on social networks, many Internet users are calling for people to gather at these emblematic places in the capital. As a reminder, the prefecture assured that “people who try to regroup there will be systematically evicted by the police”.
4:20 p.m. – TotalEnergies: the Normandy refinery shut down until Monday evening
The refinery, shut down since Friday evening, should restart at the start of the week. According to Éric Sellini, CGT union coordinator for the group, “the (stop) operations are scheduled until Monday evening”.
4:07 p.m. – 1,500 demonstrators in Marseille
The demonstration in Marseille has just ended. Nearly 1,500 people had mobilized, according to the police headquarters.
3:47 p.m. – More than 10,000 tonnes of waste in Paris
The Paris City Hall noted a “stabilization” of the volume of uncollected waste in the capital on Saturday, on the thirteenth day of the strike against the pension reform. On Friday, more than 10,000 tonnes of waste had been counted. Requisitioned dump trucks continued to collect garbage, according to the prefecture.
3:42 p.m. – Demonstrations at the Halles de Paris
Protesters invaded the Halles Châtelet shopping center in Paris. Numerous videos on social networks show skirmishes with the mall’s security service. You can also see the demonstrators calling for the resignation of Emmanuel Macron.