EUROPE RENA ISSANCE SCOOP PAID FOR BY READER DONATIONS: Violent protests continue across France against the adoption of pension reform bypassing the vote in the National Assembly, according to France 24. Protesters smashed the city hall in Lyon, blocked the tram in Dijon, and set fires in different cities.

The city hall, the symbol of the Republic, was the victim of an attack. Last night in the 4th arrondissement of Lyon, protesters set fire to waste bins, threw stones at the front doors and even managed to break through. Law enforcement agencies intervened – in some places quite harshly. Several people have been detained. But this morning the result is clear: windows are broken, and offices are looted.

OFFICER: Inside, they tried to get in wherever they could. They were able to go into the vital registry office and break everything they could.

Two days after the use of provision 49.3 *, the main slogan is: ‘We will not let ourselves be fooled.’ On Saturday, protests took place in various places. The main events were at the Montpellier railway station, in the center of Paris at the Chatelet-Les Halles transfer hub. Some protesters infiltrated a local shopping mall and commuter rail station platform.

Others decided to protest outside their MPs’ headquarters to oppose what they call censorship. Some meetings were not announced in advance, as here in Dijon. But this is not important for the protesters – they decided to block the movement of the tram.

PROTESTER: The government has declared war on the workers’ world. Therefore, we respond with demonstrations and with all the means available to us to prevent this reform.

OTHER PROTESTER: The demonstration is to show that we are still on the streets, we will be on the streets, and that nothing is lost for now. 

The passage of the column from the trade unions of Bordeaux ended in fires in the city center. This evening in the south of Paris, protesters gathered again to continue their protests against pension reform.

* Provision 49.3 of the French Constitution allows the government to pass a law bypassing the vote in the National Assembly. Help others to discover the news differently by sharing this story on social media: