« Reform without consent, rape/violation of democracy ». Another night of protests and unrest in Paris & across France. The goggles are for the tear gas that soon followed

"Taking part in an undeclared protest is an offence," says France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. It isn't. You'd think the guy in charge of policing would know the basics of the law x.com/BFMTV/status/1…

“Jupiter (Macron), the people will bring you back down to Earth”, writes 72-year-old Michel, heading to Bastille for latest pension protest in Paris. “Past presidents were capable of listening & backtracking, but Macron thinks he’s Louis XIV, an absolute monarch,” he adds.

Latest mass rally against pension reform now underway in Paris, route between Bastille & République already jam-packed. Many first-time protesters angered by Macron’s decision to force reform through without a vote

“10 years collecting rubbish bins is more than enough to wear you out,” says Julien, 40, rallying in Paris against a pension reform he describes as a “death sentence”. “They celebrated us during Covid, now this is how they thank us.”

Paris protesters hold posters with a montage of Macron dressed in full regalia in the manner of “Sun King” Louis XIV, accompanied by the slogan “Méprisant de la République” (contemptuous of the Republic)

Macron in a bin, “the real trash are in government”… Plenty of tributes & references to rubbish collectors’ strike at Paris rally – and overall a distinctly angrier tone compared to previous protests, with the focus now on government’s “denial of democracy”

Some 2,000 protesters (a fifth of local population) have gathered in Montargis, 120km south of Paris, for latest protest against Macron’s deeply unpopular pension reform

“Macron won’t listen unless we harden our protests,” says Patrick, 69, dressed as an inmate “chained to work”. He says pension protests in Montargis are “largest in living memory”

"People are content with cushy little marches then go home for lunch. It won't stop Macron," says cleaner Karine, 49, a "non-violent anarchist - for now", rallying in Montargis. She has started manning a nearby roundabout that was a bastion of the Yellow Vest protests

"We're fed up with these strolls around town. Macron will only listen once we shut down the economy," says Carlos Ferrera (not in the picture), a retired worker from the Hutchinson rubber plant near Montargis (where a 16-year-old Deng Xiaoping briefly worked in the 1920s)

While the media tend to focus on mass pension protests in Paris, turnout has often been higher in smaller towns & cities, where many people start working earlier and stand to lose most from Macron's deeply unpopular reform france24.com/en/france/2023…

French “Rosies” vow no let-up on 11th day of nationwide protests against Macron’s deeply unpopular pension reform

🚨 Je relaie rarement les interventions d’élus, mais cette interpellation du sénateur Jacques Fernique est tout simplement EXTRAORDINAIRE. En moins de 2min, il fait voler en éclat les mensonges et le cynisme anti-ecologique d’ Hervé Berville . Ecoutez, partagez.

“Angry beavers” at latest Paris protest, voted for Macron last year to build “dam” against the far right, then stripped him of parliamentary majority to avoid pension reform he rammed through anyway, without a vote

The fact that (most of) Macron’s pension bill has been deemed compatible with a constitution heavily tilted in favour of the executive won’t make it any more legitimate, or democratic, in the eyes of the overwhelming majority who reject it. The battle is political, not legal

While the Constitutional Council's pension ruling surprised few people, it set a precedent that deepens the imbalance in French institutions, allowing the executive to disguise a major social reform as an amending budget bill in order to bypass parliament lemonde.fr/politique/arti…

5 years after an Israeli gunshot found a gap in Yaser Murtaja’s bullet-proof press jacket, killing the Gaza reporter, an Israeli bomb has killed his friend & colleague Rushdi Saraj at his home in the enclave he documented tirelessly. Tribute from Le Monde lemonde.fr/international/…