PARIS — For the second week in France, nationwide protests against Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 have continued. Despite the government’s ban, people once again took to the streets and staged riots. The protests were accompanied by clashes in the center of Paris with the use of special equipment by the police. During the night from Friday to Saturday, more than 60 people were arrested.
It is also known that the protesters infiltrated the main office of the BlackRock investment company in Paris. Protesters smashed the office, burned flares and chanted protest slogans, one of which is “On est la”, which translates as “We are here.” The French pension system has long been in need of reforms, the working class essentially finances pensions, and the question has come to decide something. However, many activists believe that only the rich will benefit from the reform. For example, more than 10,000 tons of garbage have accumulated on the streets of Paris during strikes. They note that raising the retirement age from 57 to 59 is unacceptable for them. The lower retirement age for sanitation workers is due to the fact that their work is associated with heavy physical exertion.
Why BlackRock is attacked?
American company BlackRock is the largest investment company in the world and manages assets worth 10 trillion US dollars. This is more than the GDP of many countries. The attack on the office is linked to the company’s participation in private pension funds.
This is the second time in three years that protesters have invaded the BlackRock office. Earlier, in January 2020, a group of activists had already attacked the company’s office. It was demanding a change in the company’s policy in the field of fossil fuels and forcing them to abandon investments in this business area.
Anyway, at the moment, the French government is facing serious resistance from the masses, and the mood for the resignation of Emmanuel Micron has flared up again with renewed vigor. The president himself is on a visit to China, where he meets with Xi Jinping. Some of the issues are economic relations, the issue of war between Ukraine and Russia, and others.
