The scene above might not be the idealised view of the French capital you'll be seeing in 'Emily in Paris' anytime soon, but it's the current reality. The rubbish really is noticeable, but only if you’re in certain areas of the city. I arrived in Paris at the Gare du Nord in the 10th arrondissement and walked down through the 3rd and 4th. Not much sign of the piles of rubbish anywhere. Was this an example of media exaggeration? Fake news? Crossing over the river to the 5th and 6th arrondissements was a different story. The photo I took above was on the rue de la Montagne-Saint-Geneviève in the 5th where things were pretty grim.
The reason for the difference is that certain areas have their rubbish collected by the City of Paris, where the strike is strongest, whereas others have private operators, where the strike is much weaker. This helpful diagram published by Le Figaro explains.
Source: Le Figaro
Once we’d hurdled the bin bags, I was able to get a take from various Parisians on the pensions reform. I spoke to different people, ranging in age from their 20s to their 50s, and a few common themes emerged.
First, there’s a feeling that President Macron has overplayed his hand. The people I spoke to believe his victory in the 2022 presidential election was down to people wanting to prevent a Marine Le Pen presidency rather than any enthusiasm for a second term of Macronism. On that reasoning, they say, the president doesn’t have a mandate for the policies on which he campaigned. At the very least, he should show some humility and deliver a reform that has wider acceptance.
Second, the people I spoke to all accept the need for reform of the pensions system. They’re not blind to the demographics or the economics. There’s an understanding that people are living longer and the system needs reform to make sure it stays viable. However, there’s wide dislike of the blunt way that Macron has approached the question. Much more importantly though, the use of the 49.3 rule to push the bill through parliament without a vote has really incensed people. It’s one thing, my friends told me, to ignore the will of the hundreds of thousands of people who have been marching on the streets for weeks. It’s another to deprive elected representatives the opportunity to vote on a reform that is the most contentious for years.
Finally, the issue of police brutality. Everyone I spoke to brought up the issue of French policing and a belief that there has been excessive use of force to deal with mostly peaceful demonstrators. It’s true that recent demonstrations have ended in violence, but it also seems to be the case that the violence has come from determined groups of people who are intent on causing trouble whatever the issue. This was the case in the demonstrations this week where a largely peaceful march ended in confrontations with the police.
It's not clear how this will end. Macron seems unlikely to back down, unless the Conseil constitutionnel tells him to when it delivers its verdict on 14 April. Even if it rules in his favour, it feels like the country faces a difficult four more years with a man at the helm who has lost the trust of the people.
ความคิดเห็น