02:37France: 'Retirement before arthritis' - Clashes erupt as thousands protest against pension reforms in Nantes
Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police in Nantes on Tuesday, as thousands marched against the government’s new pension reforms.
Footage shows protesters dragging large waste containers and metal fences to erect barricades in the street. Police officers in full riot gear were seen using tear gas in an attempt to quell the unrest.
Earlier in the day, around 30,000 people marched through the Nantes city centre with banners and signs featuring slogans such as, 'Retirement before arthritis' and 'I'm not Benjamin Button'.
"I am here in solidarity with the situation of my colleagues, as they will have to retire a lot later, for what I consider to be unsubstantiated reasons. It’s about solidarity and about a balance in the social protection funds that need to be reworked,” a protester said.
France has seen a large scale of strikes organised by workers’ unions since January, following the government’s plan to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030.
Ministers reportedly say the changes will balance the deficit in the system caused by longer life expectancy.
France, along with a handful of other EU countries, has the lowest pension age in Europe, spending nearly 14 per cent of its economic output on them.
The last reform, in 2011, raised the retirement age from 60 to 62.
02:37Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police in Nantes on Tuesday, as thousands marched against the government’s new pension reforms.
Footage shows protesters dragging large waste containers and metal fences to erect barricades in the street. Police officers in full riot gear were seen using tear gas in an attempt to quell the unrest.
Earlier in the day, around 30,000 people marched through the Nantes city centre with banners and signs featuring slogans such as, 'Retirement before arthritis' and 'I'm not Benjamin Button'.
"I am here in solidarity with the situation of my colleagues, as they will have to retire a lot later, for what I consider to be unsubstantiated reasons. It’s about solidarity and about a balance in the social protection funds that need to be reworked,” a protester said.
France has seen a large scale of strikes organised by workers’ unions since January, following the government’s plan to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030.
Ministers reportedly say the changes will balance the deficit in the system caused by longer life expectancy.
France, along with a handful of other EU countries, has the lowest pension age in Europe, spending nearly 14 per cent of its economic output on them.
The last reform, in 2011, raised the retirement age from 60 to 62.