FRANCE: In light of approximately 100 protesters banging pots and being restrained by police during Emmanuel Macron’s visit to a factory in Alsace, Macron mentions that banging saucepans at him will not aid in France’s progress. This happened amidst France’s raging protest regarding the augmenting pension age from 62 to 64.
In the small town of Muttersholtz, where Macron launched a series of visits to rural France in an effort to soothe tensions over his contentious pensions initiatives, members of the CGT and CFDT trade unions were gathered in front of the mayor’s office on Wednesday.
Pans and lids were struck by demonstrators, who utilised whistles and horns. Police officers used violence to drive demonstrators 200 metres away after appealing to them constantly to flee the area where gatherings had been banned by the local government. Macron states, “It’s not saucepans that are going to allow France to move forward,” adding that the protests were “just the times we live in”.
He highlighted, “We can resurrect the French saucepan business since there aren’t enough of them. The reality is that people making noise with saucepans or complaining are not the only ones in the country. You’ll always see me with those who need me to keep going.”
On Monday night, when crowds assembled before town halls to drown out Macron’s broadcast speech, a new kind of French held rally: the banging of pots and pans began. The NGO Attac, which advocates for equitable society and tax reform, suggested beginning the pots-clattering sound.
This type of demonstration, which has a long history in the country as a whole, may follow Macron this week when he goes across rural France. When Macron went to a private gathering in Saint-Denis on Tuesday night, more than 300 individuals also chanted for his resignation while smashing pots, pans, and tools.
On May 1, the next nationwide trade-led protests would take place. Some of them are hunting for newer ways to protest. On Wednesday, “French Spiderman”, a free climber, scaled a 38-storey skyscraper in Paris to protest.
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