Barricades, “crushers”, heaps of garbage: Russians living in France spoke about the protests

Egor has been living in Paris for the fifth year, working in the field of information technology.

“Many pupils and students now have unplanned vacations in Paris,” says Yegor. – About 70% of teachers are on strike, 140 primary schools are closed. My friend had a flight from Charles de Gaulle airport, she barely caught the plane. The strikers surrounded the terminal and did not let any traffic through. She had to walk with her suitcase. I know that the Gare de Lion station in Paris was also blocked. The railroad just got on the tracks. Public transport in the city still runs intermittently, in the evening there are no buses at all, for example. Taxi drivers raise fares two or three times. So I had to get a bicycle from the balcony.

Due to the strike of garbage collectors, Paris is littered with garbage bags.

– It’s time to talk about a sanitary catastrophe. The city is buried in mud. On our street, after a two-week break, the garbage has just begun to be taken out. The stench is terrible, rats run along the sidewalks. Oil refineries are also on strike, and some gas stations run out of fuel. Teachers, state employees, power engineers, port workers, and museum employees come out to protest. Firefighters joined the opponents of the pension reform. All of France rose. Trade unions want to stop the country’s economy so that the authorities abandon the pension reform.

The pogroms are attributed to left-wing radical groups, “men in black”, casseurs – “crushers”. The next protest is scheduled for Tuesday. It promises to be even bigger.

Yegor says that the French are being told on TV that pension reform is an objective demand of the economy. That the French population is aging. And fewer people are employed in the economy.

– In the 80s, there were four workers per pensioner, and now this ratio has fallen to 1.5 to 1. But all my friends are sure that all this is a consequence of French short-sighted policy. The French are tired. They no longer trust anyone. Under Sarkozy, in 2010, the retirement age was increased from 60 to 62 years. Now – a new round. My friend’s father will only have to retire in 2030 when he is 64 years old. Despite his sore legs, he will work hard at a vegetable base to fill the country’s budget.

On average, pensions for French pensioners are 1300-1500 euros.

– This is sometimes more than the salaries of some currently working Frenchmen. People work hard, counting the days until retirement. Now they want to shift these dates by two years. Many consider this unfair. Therefore, they go on rallies, go on strike. My French friends can’t hear Macron’s name. They say: “He has no money for pensions for his citizens, but there are funds for military and financial assistance to Ukraine. For rockets for Kyiv. Instead of calling for peace, he is pushing the world towards a third world war.

Another of our interlocutors, Nikolai, lives in Renne, works as a serviceman at the plant.

“My French neighbor was at the barricades in the city center,” says Nikolai. – He came in this morning hoarse, there was a bump on his forehead, one of his own in the confusion hit him on the head with a stone. The eyes are red. He says that the smoke from the fires there mixed with the tear gas that the police fired at them. But neighbor Pierre was in high spirits. It is important for them and their associates to defend their rights. They want Macron to hear his people.

According to Nikolai, along with the pension reform, it is planned to reduce social benefits.

– One of my acquaintances, a rather apolitical and patient person, also went to the protest action. He is a bus driver and starts his first shift at 5 am. He had retirement benefits. And now, thanks to the pension reform, they are going to be significantly reduced. This applies to all public transport workers, as well as power engineers. So, the pension reform pretty much added fuel to the fire of the people’s revolt. The situation is similar to the revolutionary one.

Serious pogroms also took place in the south of France, in Toulouse. Protesters threw stones at the city district office there. The ring road was on fire.

We contacted our compatriot Inessa, who has been living in Toulouse for more than thirty years. Works as a nurse. She was born in Kyiv and grew up in Moscow.

“In the south of France, we traditionally vote for the head of the National Association party, Marine Le Pen,” says Inessa. – But more – by inertia. The French people, for the most part, are little interested in politics, rather infantile, obsessed with their own personal interests. Therefore, when it came to the pension reform, every Frenchman, people took to the streets of the cities.

Inessa says that she tries not to discuss political topics at work.

The French can’t stand foreigners. Any. In general, they treat me warmly. But I put a lot of effort into this.

According to the financier Anton, who has been living in France for 9 years, the reason for the pension reform is not the current lack of funds, but the imbalance in funding.

– In other words, it is possible not to carry out reform, to increase debt obligations, which will not create problems for the next 30 years, – Anton believes. But, since Macron has a serious economic education, he wants to carry out an unpopular reform before leaving his last term. This will allow not to impose a tax burden on future generations.

As for the ninth strike, Anton emphasizes that this is part of the democratic process.

“The right to protest is protected by labor law and the Constitution. Most of the protesters have special pension regimes that allow them to retire much earlier, for example, at age 50. This reform could abolish these regimes. It should also be taken into account that trade unions are traditionally strong and organized in France. They brought to the streets of cities about 3.5 million citizens.

How are the events described in the local press?

– In different ways, depending on the political wing. The left-wing press supports the popular movement, while the right-wing press is more restrained in its assessments. Most of the elite are aware of the economic need for reform, but some are trying to use the situation to earn political points.

As Anton says, most of his acquaintances have an average pension of 3,000 euros. This is the equivalent of 247 thousand rubles.

– Despite the fact that the cost of living in France is not much different from Russia, especially if we compare the capitals.

The attitude towards Russian culture with the beginning of the special operation, as Anton says, has not changed in France. Museums and Orthodox churches are open.

– I did not observe discrimination on ethnic grounds. Many continue to quietly find jobs with Russian Federation passports, receive all the social benefits of a resident, including medical insurance.

Meanwhile, the authorities are dreading Tuesday, March 28th. A new nationwide strike is scheduled for that day. The police are stepping up security at the Champs Elysees.