PARIS: A group of protesters briefly invaded offices of stockmarket operator Euronext in Paris’ La Defense business district on Thursday (Apr 20), saying big companies must pay up to finance pensions, as part of wider protests against a rise in the retirement age.
“We are told that there is no money to finance pensions,” said Sud-Rail unionist Fabien Villedieu. But there is “no need to get the money from the pockets of workers, there is some in the pockets of billionaires”.
Waving union flags, the group of a few hundred protesters occupied Euronext’s lobby, engulfed in red smoke from flares, and chanted words popular with pension protesters: “We are here, we are here, even if Macron does not want it we are here.”
They also shouted: “Macron resign!”
Earlier this month, similar scenes occurred at Blackrock’s Paris offices.
At the weekend, President Emmanuel Macron signed into law the rise in the retirement age which means citizens must work two years longer, to 64, before receiving their state pension.
That was after three months of protests that brought huge crowds onto the streets and at times turned violent. Opinion polls show a vast majority of voters oppose the pension reform.
Macron and his government say they want to move on and work on other measures to do with working conditions, law and order, education and health issues.
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