Protesters manifest inside train stations, Euronext building in Paris over pension reform

ANKARA

Protesters manifested inside train stations in Paris on Thursday over the pension reform.

The mobilization continues in France against the reform bill which was promulgated last week.

Trade union members entered the Gare de l'Est train station in the capital, with flares and union flags in their hands.

They chanted slogans and other chants peacefully, according to an Anadolu reporter on the ground.

The protesters then headed to the Gare du Nord station, the same source added.

Another group entered the Euronext stocks building, broadcaster BFMTV said.

In previous mobilizations, protesters entered the premises of the multinational asset management company BlackRock – the historic Centorial building – as well as the office of the multinational luxury goods conglomerate LVMH.

The move was a symbolic one urging the government to take more money from the rich, as LVMH’s founder Bernard Arnault is currently the world’s wealthiest man, according to local media.

The controversial pension reform plan was signed and promulgated Saturday in the Official Journal.

President Emmanuel Macron signed the bill after the Constitutional Council finished its review late Friday despite demands by trade unions to drop the measure that has drawn weeks of protests.

The nine "sages," as they are known in France, partially approved the bill while rejecting six of its measures, including those regarding senior workers.

The bill includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, requiring at least 43 years of work to be eligible for a full pension, with workers and trade unions among others vehemently opposing the plan.

The government unveiled the reform proposal in January and it was taken up for parliamentary debate the following month even as millions took to the streets to oppose it.

Unrest intensified when Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, after consulting with Macron, decided to use special constitutional powers to adopt the bill without parliamentary approval in March.

The decision was driven by fear that lawmakers would be able to block the reforms as the government lacks an absolute majority in the legislature.

*Mohamad Alsayed in Paris contributed to this story