The essential
- Thursday, thousands of “angry” or “rebellious” demonstrators gathered in several cities in France to protest against the pension reform and the triggering of article 49.3. Gatherings sometimes marked by tensions.
- The day after 49.3, the Liot group and the National Rally filed a motion of censure.
- Actions continue Friday. The strike is maintained at the SNCF and the unions are calling for rallies this weekend before a new big day of mobilization on Thursday March 23.
- For the second consecutive evening, a wild demonstration took place on the Place de la Concorde in Paris and in other cities of the country. In the capital, around sixty people were arrested.
11:17 p.m. – “Degradations” in Strasbourg
“Degradations” were committed in the city center of Strasbourg on Friday evening after a rally against the pension reform and the use of article 49.3, we learned from the prefecture. On Twitter, the prefect of Bas-Rhin, Josiane Chevalier, condemned “firmly the damage committed by demonstrators in the city center of Strasbourg” and gave her “total support to the national police (…) who had to intervene several times to restore calm”. The police did not, however, make any arrests, the prefecture told AFP.
10:47 p.m. – François Bayou: without 49.3, there would be “no more government”
The president of the MoDem François Bayrou on Friday defended article 49.3 of the Constitution, used by Emmanuel Macron and Élisabeth Borne for the pension reform, and without which there would be “no more government”. “If there hadn’t been 49.3 on Thursday evening, we would have found ourselves with: no more pension reform bill – it would have been defeated in the vote – and no more government”, declared François Bayrou on LCI.
Denounced as a “forced passage” or a “democratic vice” by the political and trade union oppositions, article 49.3 of the Constitution allows the government to have a bill adopted without a vote, if no motion of censure is voted against him by the Assembly. Article 49.3 of the Constitution, “which we have become accustomed to vilifying”, is “one of the keystones of the Fifth Republic”, developed the mayor of Pau.
10:42 p.m. – 61 arrests
A final report shows 61 people arrested after a wild demonstration organized on the Place de la Concorde.
10:11 p.m. – Police injured in the clashes
According to our colleagues from BFMTV, citing a police source, several members of the police were injured in the clashes this Friday evening which took place on the Place de la Concorde.
9:59 p.m. – The balance sheet climbs
According to a new report from the police headquarters, 38 people were arrested in Paris after the tensions that enamelled the Place de la Concorde.
9:57 p.m. – The 2023 baccalaureate in the face of strikes
The Minister of Education will mobilize “additional supervisors” during the baccalaureate exams at the start of the week, he said on Friday evening, against a backdrop of rising calls from teachers’ unions to continue the mobilization against the pension reform. . “Additional supervisors are mobilized”, indicates the rue de Grenelle in a press release published three days before the holding of the specialty tests, which will take place from Monday to Wednesday. “In the event of delay of candidates due to transport strikes, arrangements for the test time will be organized so that they can benefit from the entire duration of the tests”, he added, a measure already announced this week. .
9:32 p.m. – Some tensions in Bordeaux
A demonstration against the use of 49.3 by the government took place in Bordeaux. In the early evening, tensions were reported by the local press. The procession was dispersed around 8:30 p.m., no report of the arrests has yet been communicated by the prefecture of Gironde.
9:30 p.m. – Concorde evacuated
After long moments of confrontation around the Concorde obelisk, the square is almost emptied of its demonstrators. Only a few hundred people are still present and are scattered in the streets surrounding the Parisian square.
9:16 p.m. – New arrests
A new report shows 12 people arrested on the Place de la Concorde by the police, while an operation is underway to disperse the crowd.
8:52 p.m. – Towards an agreement between LR and the presidential majority?
The LR mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris Rachida Dati pleaded on Friday for a “government agreement” between her party and President Emmanuel Macron, in search of a majority. “The appointment of Elisabeth Borne is a sign for an alliance on the left, it is a total failure”, she estimated on France culture. This is why “responsibly, a political agreement is needed to straighten out this country”, added the former Sarkozyist minister. “We have to get around the table to find a government agreement,” insisted the president of the National Council of Republicans, a kind of party parliament.
8:40 p.m. – First arrested in Paris
Eleven people, at least, were arrested on the Place de la Concorde, reports BFMTV, while 4,000 people are gathered in the same Parisian square.
8:09 p.m. – Projectile fire towards the police
Fireworks mortars are launched in the direction of the police present on the Place de la Concorde, by disruptive elements and dressed in black. A first police charge took place in an attempt to disperse the troublemakers.
7:28 p.m. – Additional supervisors mobilized for the baccalaureate
The Minister of Education will mobilize “additional supervisors” during the baccalaureate exams at the start of the week, he said on Friday evening, against a backdrop of rising calls from teachers’ unions to continue the mobilization against the pension reform. . “In the event of delay of the candidates due to transport strikes, adjustments to the test time will be organized so that they can benefit from the entire duration of the tests”, he added.
7:23 p.m. – Several metro lines closed in Paris
In response to the call to demonstrate at Place de la Concorde, the RATP closed several metro stations at the request of the police headquarters. Lines 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 12 and 13 are affected.
7:16 p.m. – New gathering place de la Concorde
More than 2,000 demonstrators gathered again at Place de la Concorde in Paris.
6:46 p.m. – Two refineries threatened with shutdown
In Gonfreville-l’Orcher, in Manche, the striking employees of TotalEnergies “raised their voices”, according to Éric Sellini, CGT coordinator. “The main units will start stopping from tomorrow [samedi] and “normally the refinery will be shut down this weekend or Monday at the latest,” he warned. The threat of a stoppage of refineries is brandished by the CGT to ultimately dry up service stations. Stopping a refinery is complex, the management can oppose it.
Near Marseille, the Petroineos refinery, where work had resumed on Thursday, is threatened with total shutdown “no later than Monday afternoon”, according to Sébastien Varagnol, CGT delegate. “Fuel shipments are stopped this afternoon [vendredi]and this weekend, we are preparing for the total shutdown of the installations, which will take place no later than Monday afternoon , he said.