Protesters Set Fire to Police Station in France's Rennes (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Protesters against the controversial pension reform in Rennes, France, set fire to the entrance of a local police station.
Trash containers in front of the police station in Sainte-Anne Square were set ablaze on Friday. The fire was extinguished with a police water cannon, and no injuries were reported.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin condemned the attack on the police station, calling it "unacceptable" and stating that "perpetrators will be prosecuted." Meanwhile, the French Constitutional Council approved the key article of the pension reform bill on Friday. The bill proposes to increase the retirement age in France gradually, from 62 to 64 years by 2030. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to sign the bill within 48 hours.
Local media reported that more than 100 people were arrested in Paris during the Friday demonstration against the pension reform, while a total of 4,000 people protested in the streets of the French capital, setting trash containers on fire. Police also used tear gas against demonstrators in Lyon, where about 200-300 people had gathered in front of the city prefecture on Friday evening.
French unions have urged Macron not to sign the pension reform bill and have called on the country's population to go on a general nationwide strike against the reform on May 1. The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) made the announcement on Friday.
On March 16, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne adopted a law on raising the retirement age to 64 by invoking Article 49.3 of the constitution, which allowed the bill to pass without parliamentary approval. The decision sparked a strong backlash, prompting people to take to the streets across the country.