Paris, the French city of art, fashion, and culture that attracts tourists from all over the world has been stinking as the garbage has been clogging its streets for days. This comes after sanitation workers launched a strike against the pension reforms bill introduced by President Emanuel Macron-led government.
Despite widespread opposition, the bill to raise the retirement age by two years that is from 62 to 64 advanced on Wednesday as a committee of legislators from both houses of the French parliament approved it. With 193 votes in favour and 114 votes against, the bill was approved by the French parliament’s upper house.
Tourists aren't happy with the garbage piling up in Paris amid strikes. More than 6,600 tons of waste piled up within nine days https://t.co/KHL74o3UbY pic.twitter.com/hXHIQw1y4S
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 16, 2023
Garbage piles tarnish the ‘city of lights’
The workers’ strike has impacted half of the districts in Paris, Nantes, Rennes, and Le Havre. On Tuesday, the city’s waste piles weighed more than 7,000 tonnes, as per reports. While comparable issues are present in other French towns as well, the shambles in the nation’s capital are drawing attention globally.
Epic fail Paris 🤦🏽♂️ #strike #paris #garbage #parisstrike pic.twitter.com/EcKplBkfCa
— Daniel Korkhov (@danielkorkhov_) March 16, 2023
Paris: Once romantic city is now a garbage dump amid pension strike#Paris #France pic.twitter.com/s3SfosLfWs
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) March 15, 2023
The piled-up trash has left entire pavements covered in black bags and overflowing trash has affected three incineration plants outside of the French capital. The household garbage management company in Paris, Syctom, stated that it has not yet turned to call the police and is instead rerouting rubbish lorries to additional storage and treatment facilities in the region.
According to Reuters, the protesting workers stopped fuel deliveries from leaving TotalEnergies and Esso refineries earlier on Friday. This caused a disruption in the power supply and delayed maintenance at some Electricite de France nuclear reactors.
What do the protestors say?
On Wednesday, 1.7 million people, according to the hard-left Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) trade union federation, while 480,000, according to the interior ministry, took to the streets nationwide.
Several people believe that this policy is unjust to those who start their jobs early. Now, waste collectors and drivers can retire at 57 years old, but under the reform plans—which still permit early retirement for people who encountered difficult working conditions—they would have to put in more years of work.
According to the CGT, garbage employees’ life expectancy is 12–17 years lower than the national average.
Politics amidst protests
A number of left-leaning politicians have expressed their support for the strike by garbage collectors on social media, and some members of the leftist La France Insoumise (France Unbowed party) have rallied to donate €20,000 to the workers’ strike fund.
Louis Boyard, Member of Parliament for Val-de-Marne has extended support to the protestors.
“We owe this historic movement against #ReformeDesRetraites to the workers. This movement will be held together in solidarity. This morning by handing over €20,000 to the garbage collectors on strike. This afternoon at the demonstration. The government is cracking up. We will win,” Boyard tweeted on March 11.
Ce mouvement historique contre la #ReformeDesRetraites on le doit aux travailleuses et travailleurs.
— Louis Boyard (@LouisBoyard) March 11, 2023
Ce mouvement tiendra par la solidarité.
Ce matin en remettant 20 000€ aux éboueurs en grève.
Cette après midi à la manifestation.
Le Gouvernement craque. Nous allons gagner.🔥 pic.twitter.com/aRo8YFoxXM
Fear of the spread of rat-borne diseases
It is pertinent to note that Paris is one of the worst rat-infested cities in the world, with 1.5 to 1.75 rats for every resident. In July last year, the French National Medicine Academy issued a warning regarding the “threat to human health” posed by rats and the diseases they can pass on to humans.
While speaking to Le Parisien newspaper, specialist Romain Lasseur said “The strike triggers a change in rat behavior. They’ll rummage around in trash cans, reproduce there, and leave urine and faeces behind. We have a serious health risk for both the general public and waste collectors.”
President Macron turns down the call by unions for a meeting
On March 9, the French President in a letter addressed to the unions turned down their demand for an urgent meeting saying that the unions had enough time to negotiate earlier. In the letter, President Macron stated that the government had already made concessions, such as raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years, instead of the 65 initially planned.
President Macron has asserted that he aims to make the French economy more competitive. In order to make the French pension system financially sustainable in the upcoming years, Macron reaffirmed his views and insisted on the necessity of raising the retirement age.
