Angered French workers blocked entrance to a terminal at a Paris airport on Thursday amid President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the pension age by two years to 64 years of age.
At Roissy-Charles De Gaulle airport and other locations around the country, protesters are blocking roads and preventing access to schools and universities, according to Reuters. A number of protesters have been spotted with banners that read “No to the pension reform.”
BFM TV footage has also revealed that union activists blocked the train tracks at Gare de Lyon station in Paris. Additionally, there were reportedly clouds of smoke seen near Toulouse rising from scorched piles of debris.
Lucile Bidet, a 27-year-old Air France programming officer, attended a rally in Nantes, saying: “I’m on strike to protest against the pension reform, but also against what is happening in the government.”
“They’re not listening to the people anymore.”
The New York Times reported last week that Macron has forced the pension bill through without conducting a full vote in the National Assembly, which has angered many voters.
Despite the strong disapproval of his pension plan, Macron has decided to push forward, noting that the law would go into effect by the end of the year, according to the report.
CBS News has reported that approximately 40-70 percent of all teachers in France have gone on strike amid the French government’s decision to move forward with the pension plan.
The outlet noted that 65 percent of the French people believe that Macron is a poor president, with only 30 percent believing that president’s defense of the bill was convincing.
