The anger does not subside. Rallies against the pension reform and the passage in force via the 49.3 of the government were punctuated by incidents, Friday night, including in Paris, Lyon and Strasbourg, with several dozen people arrested, mainly in the capital.

Several thousand people gathered in the evening at Place de la Concorde in Paris, a few hundred meters from the Assembly. A blaze was blazing, lit by demonstrators, and the atmosphere became tense at nightfall, according to AFP journalists. Hundreds of people clashed with police in small groups, throwing projectiles. Around 21:30 p.m. the square was completely evacuated. According to the police headquarters, 61 people were arrested in the evening.

Six arrests in Lyon, damage in Strasbourg

In Lyon, protesters stormed a borough hall and lit a fire, but police quickly extinguished it and arrested six people, according to the prefecture. Also in Lyon, a few hundred young people set fire to garbage cans, overturned scooters, broke billboards, threw firecrackers and tagged shop windows. The police responded with tear gas.

In Strasbourg, it was on the Place Kléber that 1,600 protesters gathered. "We too will force our way through," the protesters chanted. The prefecture reported "damage" in the city center, but no arrest. A thousand people marched in the center of Lille, and a procession of a few hundred demonstrators dispersed smoothly in Bordeaux.

Motions of censure discussed on Monday

The no-confidence motions are expected to be examined in the National Assembly on Monday from 16:00, parliamentary sources told AFP, subject to validation just before the session.

In this climate of crisis, the small group Libertés, Indépendants Outre-mer et Territoires (Liot) tabled a "transpartisan" motion of censure co-signed by elected representatives of the Nupes. The latter is more likely to be voted by right-wing MPs who are against the pension reform. But the bar of the absolute majority to bring down the government seems difficult to achieve. This Liot group, which includes 20 MPs of various political tendencies, thus finds itself in a pivotal position.

The National Rally has tabled its own motion of censure. "And we will vote all the motions of censure presented," said RN deputy Laure Lavalette.

'Anger is rising'

For CFDT Secretary General Laurent Berger, if President Emmanuel Macron wants to "extinguish the fire" of social anger, he must "withdraw the reform" or "not promulgate it.

On Thursday, 310 people had been arrested in France, including 258 in Paris, announced Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin denouncing "burned effigies" in Dijon and "prefectures targeted". Urban violence also took place in Nantes and Rennes on Thursday evening.

At the same time, the inter-union called for "local rallies" this weekend, as well as a 9th day of strikes and demonstrations on Thursday, March 23. The unions of the SNCF call to "maintain the strike" renewable started on the 7th and "to act massively" next Thursday.

  • Society
  • Pension reform 2023
  • Paris
  • Ile
  • Demonstration