Paris Is Not Romantic As Garbage Piles Up In The Streets And Massive Strikes Continue

The city of lights looks more like a city of rubbish as garbage collectors maintain an eight-day strike against President Emmanuel Macron’s proposed pension reforms which passed the French Senate vote on Saturday despite their unpopularity.

Senators passed the reforms by 195 votes to 112, bringing the package a step closer to becoming law.

As the country prepares for another week of protests and industrial action, more than 5,400 tons of trash remain uncollected on the streets of the capital as of Monday, March 13, according to an assessment by Paris City Hall. The refuse is marring many of the city’s most picturesque streets near iconic monuments, including the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.

“Three incineration plants outside the capital have been hit by the work stoppages that have left entire pavements covered in black bags and overflowing bins,” reports France 24.

The contentious bill at the origin of this most recent civil unrest would raise the retirement age in France from 62 to 64 and got a critical push forward from the French Senate’s approval despite protests, transport chaos affecting trains, metros and some airports and the uncollected garbage piling higher by the day.

“Strike action has mostly hit France’s capital, but garbage collectors in other parts of the country, such as Rennes, have also walked out,” reports The Local.

Unions have called for walkouts to continue until Wednesday, March 15, when the country’s eight largest unions have called for another day of general strikes and demonstrations.

According to the powerful CGT union, garbage collectors and drivers can currently retire at age 57. However, they would face another two years of work under the reform plans, which still grant early retirement for those who face harsh working conditions.

Life expectancy for garbage workers is seven years less than the national average, according to the CGT.

“Energy companies, railway workers and Parisian garbage collectors remain mobilized against the reform,” Le Monde reported. “They are determined to make the anger of the French be heard and recognized. For these employees, the “contempt” of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, who remains deaf to the message from the streets, does not pass. They continue their renewable strike as traffic remains disrupted and trash cans pile up.”

More than 1.2 million protesters marched in France last Tuesday for the sixth time since the start of the year, and rallies attracted bigger crowds than those held in mid-January, including in Marseille, one of France’s largest cities.

The proposed reform would also increase the number of years people have to make contributions in order to receive a full pension.

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Despite the stench of the uncollected trash and the disrupting rolling industrial actions of the last 10 weeks, “the government’s position is looking increasingly strong,” the Economist concludes. “The pension reforms is a cornerstone policy of President Macron’s second presidential term.”

According to The Guardian, a recent opinion poll published by broadcaster BFMTV found that 63% of French people approve of the protests against the reform. “However, 78% said they believed that Macron would end up getting the reform adopted.”