The opposition responds with pots and pans and riots to Macron’s speech in defense of the pension reform

18 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

More than 370 saucepans have responded to the speech to the nation this Monday by French President Emmanuel Macron, in which he has defended the “necessary” increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 and later the response has raised the tone with riots in several French cities.

The Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions and Citizen Action (Attac) has reported on the casseroles called in public spaces, mainly squares, in different parts of the country, including the Town Hall Square in Paris, where hundreds of people.

The demonstration had a moment of tension with the police, according to France 3, which highlights that calm returned a few minutes later. Concentrations have also been held in other Parisian neighborhoods.

The image has been repeated in Toulouse, Rennes, Amiens, Limoges or Marseille with these “pot concerts” held at the same time that Macron appeared on French screens. In Dijon the concentration was not authorized and the Police used tear gas to disperse the attendees.

Later, at night, there have been riots in Lyon, where the protesters have used fireworks against the Police. In Rennes the Police have used water cannons and tear gas. There have also been protests in Bordeaux, Angers, Nantes or Rennes, where a thousand demonstrators have been counted, according to ‘Le Figaro’.

The Parisian Prefecture has reported 2,000 protesters in the X District and the XIII District, in addition to the concentration in the Plaza de la Villa.

The controversial pension reform was promulgated in the early hours of Saturday after the Constitutional Council endorsed the main pillars of the legislation, including the delay in the retirement age from 62 to 64 years.

The legislation was published in the Official Gazette of the French Republic, the official gazette of the French state, after a night of protests that left more than a hundred detainees and a last-ditch effort by the left to return the text to the National Assembly.