Bordeaux Town Hall Engulfed in Flames Amidst Pension Protests in France
As pension protests spread across France, SHOCKING footage shows the Bordeaux town hall engulfed in flames.
A dramatic video depicts the moment the building caught fire as hundreds of protesters continue to chant on the ninth day of nationwide demonstrations.
This week, rioters in the city of Lyon torched the town hall in response to protests over President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial plan to raise the country’s retirement age from 62 to 64.
On Thursday, protests occurred in several French cities, including Paris, where police fired tear gas and charged the crowds with batons.
In an interview on Wednesday, the French President insisted that the government’s bill to raise the retirement age must be implemented by the end of the year, further inflaming the crowds.
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Some protestors lit fires in the street, igniting uncollected garbage and wooden pallets.
As more than 250 demonstrations were planned across the country, protesters blocked train stations, the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, refineries, and ports.
In several other cities, including Nantes and Bordeaux in the west, the police fired tear gas at protesters and used water cannons against others in Rennes.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin reported that 123 members of the French security forces had been injured and at least 80 individuals had been arrested.
The protests have raised concerns about King Charles’ upcoming state visit to France, with striking workers refusing to provide red carpets and garbage piling up in the streets of Paris.
A banquet planned for King Charles and Macron at the Palace of Versailles is likely to be rescheduled due to concerns about violence.
King Charles is scheduled to arrive on Sunday for his first foreign state visit as monarch, with a visit to the southwestern city of Bordeaux scheduled for Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the second full day of his visit, unions announced new strikes and protests.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne stated that the violence witnessed during Thursday’s nationwide protests against the government’s pension reform was “unacceptable,” as tensions soared in several French cities.
She stated on Twitter, “It is your right to demonstrate and express your disapproval.
“We cannot accept the violence and destruction that we have witnessed today.”
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