France braces for yet more riots as armed cops guard constitutional court ahead of ruling on President Macron’s hated bid to raise retirement age from 62 to 64
- French gendarme are standing guard around the Conseil Constitutionnel in Paris
- Protests and riots are expected in France today following a possible ruling
France is bracing for yet more riots as the country’s top constitutional court prepares to rule on whether to approve President Emmanuel Macron’s deeply unpopular pensions overhaul.
Ahead of the decision, French gendarme stood guard around the perimeter of the Conseil Constitutionnel in Paris in readiness for an outbreak of demonstrations as intense protests continue to grip the nation.
A green light today from the heavily patrolled institution would pave the way for the head of state to sign the changes into law and ensure they are implemented by year-end.
Experts believe the most likely scenario is that the nine-member judicial body will censure some non-essential parts of Macron’s proposed legislation but approve the principal element that would see the retirement age rise to 64 from 62.
France has been ensnared by months of labor strikes and protests. Violence by pockets of ultra-left radicals have marred the otherwise peaceful nationwide union-organized marches since January.
French gendarmes stand in position near the Louvre museum and the Constitutional Council in Paris this morning
Ahead of the decision, French gendarme stood guard around the perimeter of the Conseil Constitutionnel in Paris in readiness for an outbreak of demonstrations
Officials are standing in readiness ahead of an expected outbreak of demonstrations as intense protests continue to grip the nation. Pictured: Protesters light flares and occupy the LVMH headquarters in Paris on Thursday
Reporters followed striking railway workers invading French luxury group LVMH’s headquarters in Paris on Thursday
Protests have broken out almost weekly since January as around two in three people are against the highly unpopular reform. Approval from the council will bring France closer into line with its EU neighbours.
‘The council will likely follow the course it always had – not to counter big social or societal reforms,’ constitutional expert Laureline Fontaine told AFP.
READ MORE: Why are the French protesting? The reasons behind Macron’s decision to raise retirement age
But labour unions and opposition lawmakers are still hoping the Constitutional Council will strike down changes that Macron attempted during his first term in office and has put at the heart of the second-term agenda.
‘It would be a disaster for Emmanuel Macron,’ political journalist Ludovic Vigogne, who has written a recent book on the president, told RTL radio on Friday.
‘He would have no margin for manoeuvre… it would be such a huge victory for his political opponents.’
Senior ruling party MP Eric Woerth said that he expected ‘the core part’ of the law to be approved but he conceded that ‘we have not convinced people.’
‘Once the volcano has cooled down and people look at things with a bit more distance, maybe in the back of their minds they’ll say, ‘maybe they were right’… the French pension system needed unpopular decisions to conserve it,’ he told Europe 1 radio.
Some demonstrations have turned violent since Macron’s government forced the bill through parliament last month without a vote, using an executive power that is legal but has sparked accusations of undemocratic behaviour from opponents.
Some 380,000 people took to the streets nationwide on Thursday in the latest day of union-led action against the bill since January, according to the interior ministry.
But that was far fewer that the nearly 1.3 million it said demonstrated at the height of the protests in March.
A French gendarme stands guard as a security perimeter is established around France’s Conseil Constitutionnel on the day of a ruling on the contested pension reform
France has been ensnared by months of labor strikes and protests and more are expected later today following the ruling by the Conseil Constitutionnel in Paris
French gendarmes and CRS riot police stand in position in front of the Conseil Constitutionnel during a demonstration on Thursday
Protesters hold a banner during a demonstration as part of the 12th day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government’s pension reform on Thursday
Some protesters blocked roads around the northern city of Rouen on Friday and other spontaneous demonstrations are expected when the decision is made public at 6pm (4pm GMT).
Dozens of riot police were deployed around the court in Paris on Thursday during demonstrations and authorities have banned protests there until early Saturday.
As well as ruling on whether the pensions legislation and the way it was passed is in line with the constitution, the council must also decide on whether to approve an opposition demand for a referendum on an alternative pensions law.
It is not yet clear whether it will give its go-ahead, but the path towards any actual referendum would be long and uncertain.
‘We have very good arguments to ask for a complete censure (of the law),’ left-wing MP Mathilde Panot told LCI television on Friday.
Having repeatedly dismissed calls for talks with union leaders in recent weeks, Macron has said he will invite labour representatives for discussions once the court decision is published.
Flames rise from a Mercedes car set on fire during a demonstration on the 12th day of action after the government pushed a pensions reform on Thursday
Protestors hold a red flares during yet another demonstration in Bordeaux on Thursday
Protesters push a trashbin in a fire and scuffles occur between protesters and riot police
Riot police charge during a protest against the government after pushing the pensions reform without a vote, Paris, Thursday
French gendarmes and CRS riot police apprehend protesters on the Place de la Bastille on Thursday
Riot mobile gendarmes walk past a garbage can on fire during a demonstration in Paris, Thursday
A placard at a burning car reads ‘Riot police, go away’ as riot police officers walk past during a demonstration in Rennes on Thursday
French riot police take measure during a demonstration after the French government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote, Paris, Thursday
‘The decision from the Constitutional Council on Friday will bring an end to the democratic and constitutional procedures,’ Macron told reporters on a trip to the Netherlands on Wednesday.
He added, however, that public debate ‘will continue, for sure’.
CFDT union leader Laurent Berger has said that if the bill is only partially approved, it should be re-examined in parliament.
Surveys show that about two in three French people are against the pension changes, with critics arguing they are unfair for women and unskilled workers who started working early in life.
But the government argues that they are essential to stop the system from falling into heavy deficits in coming decades and bring France in line with the rest of Europe where people typically retire later.
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