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Over 850 People Detained in France at Protests Against Pension Reform

© AFP 2023 / Loic VenanceA protestor holds an umbrella to protect from teargas during a demonstration on the 8th day of strikes and protests across the country against the government's proposed pensions overhaul, in Nantes, on March 15, 2023.
A protestor holds an umbrella to protect from teargas during a demonstration on the 8th day of strikes and protests across the country against the government's proposed pensions overhaul, in Nantes, on March 15, 2023.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 22.03.2023
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PARIS (Sputnik) - Over 850 protesters have been detained in France during demonstrations against the recently passed pension reform, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Tuesday.
"Since Thursday, 855 people have been detained in France, including 729 in Paris. Some 843 people have been placed in custody," Darmanin told French media.
Earlier in the day, riot police used tear gas against protesters at an oil refinery in the French city of Fos-sur-Mer in the south of the country as they tried to block access to the oil depot, local media reported. Demonstrators reportedly gathered to support the forced-to-work strikers. Three police officers were reportedly injured in the clash.
The police also used tear gas against radical demonstrators who had gathered on the Place de la Republique in Paris after they started throwing firecrackers and glass bottles at the officers, according to a RIA Novosti correspondent.
On March 16, the French government adopted a law on raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years without holding a final vote in the parliament, triggering Article 49.3 of the constitution, which allows the government to adopt legislation with no need for a parliamentary vote.
A protestor holds a placard which reads as 'retirement before arthritis' during a rally in Lyon, on January 19, 2023.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.02.2023
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Almost 75% of France's Residents Support Further Protests Against Pension Reform, Media Reports
Since then spontaneous demonstrations against the bill have been taking place in Paris. For two days in a row, the French staged protests against the pension reform on the Place de la Concorde in Paris in front of the Palais Bourbon, the meeting place of the National Assembly. According to the interior ministry, 10,000 people gathered in front of the assembly on March 16, and 4,000 the next day.
There have already been eight nationwide strikes and hundreds of demonstrations in France within the last two months, with over 1 million people taking part in most of them. During the protests, clashes often broke out between the police and protesters.
According to Darmanin, the ninth nationwide demonstration will take place in France on March 23, to which 12,000 police officers will be deployed, with 5,000 in Paris. The minister noted that over 300 police officers had been injured during the two months of protests against the reform.
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