Blood and bin fires: Paris's pension protests in photos
- Text by Ben Smoke
- Photography by Ryan Thomas
Very few people riot like the French. That adage has never been truer than over the last few months, as the country has been gripped with nationwide protests and strikes after the Macron government forced through a raise in the retirement age from 62 to 64.
The unrest, which has seen scores arrested, many injured and attracted widespread condemnation of the French state by human rights groups for the police’s use of excessive force, has been a long time in the making.
Pension reform was a significant part of President Macron’s election platform in 2017 and initial protests and transport strikes against the plans, which did not originally include a raise of the retirement age, took place in late 2019. The Covid pandemic saw reforms delayed, with Macron announcing the rise in age in late 2022.
The plans, which campaigners and unions say will detrimentally affect women and blue collar workers, are deeply unpopular. So much so that Macron took the surprise decision to enact article 49.3 of the French constitution, allowing him to bypass the country’s democratically elected National Assembly to enact a law. The triggering of the article saw two no-confidence attempts against his Government, both of which failed.
Reaction to the reforms have seen protests across France, with almost every town and city seeing people on the streets. The demonstrations reached fever pitch in March as unprecedented co-ordinated strike action across multiple sectors saw rubbish piling up on the streets and transport grinding to a halt.
Photographer Ryan Thomas was in Paris across two weekends in March to capture some of the action.
Follow Ryan on Instagram.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck
Clubbing is good for your health, according to neuroscientists
We Become One — A new documentary explores the positive effects that dance music and shared musical experiences can have on the human brain.
Written by: Zahra Onsori
In England’s rural north, skateboarding is femme
Zine scene — A new project from visual artist Juliet Klottrup, ‘Skate Like a Lass’, spotlights the FLINTA+ collectives who are redefining what it means to be a skater.
Written by: Zahra Onsori
Donald Trump says that “everything is computer” – does he have a point?
Huck’s March dispatch — As AI creeps increasingly into our daily lives and our attention spans are lost to social media content, newsletter columnist Emma Garland unpicks the US President’s eyebrow-raising turn of phrase at a White House car show.
Written by: Emma Garland
How the ’70s radicalised the landscape of photography
The ’70s Lens — Half a century ago, visionary photographers including Nan Goldin, Joel Meyerowitz and Larry Sultan pushed the envelope of what was possible in image-making, blurring the boundaries between high and low art. A new exhibition revisits the era.
Written by: Miss Rosen
The inner-city riding club serving Newcastle’s youth
Stepney Western — Harry Lawson’s new experimental documentary sets up a Western film in the English North East, by focusing on a stables that also functions as a charity for disadvantaged young people.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The British intimacy of ‘the afters’
Not Going Home — In 1998, photographer Mischa Haller travelled to nightclubs just as their doors were shutting and dancers streamed out onto the streets, capturing the country’s partying youth in the early morning haze.
Written by: Ella Glossop