Garbage bags piled up near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on September 17. (Mainichi/Yuki Tani)
[Paris: Yuki Tani]As protests against the French government’s decision to adopt a pension reform bill in the House of Commons intensify, the streets of Paris are flooded with rubbish due to a strike by rubbish collectors. The political conflict between the government and the city authorities is also a background, and the landscape of the “city of flowers” has been ruined.
French media reported that cleaning workers in the city of Paris and trade unionists at contractors shut down several incinerators and treatment facilities on Monday. On 17 December, more than 10,000 tonnes of rubbish were left uncollected and left uncollected. The union has stated that the strike will continue until at least the 20th.
The French government asked the mayor of Hidalgo to force the members of the cleaning staff to return to work, but he was refused. Hidalgo, who ran for president last year on the endorsement of the Socialist Party, opposes the government’s plan to raise the pension age from the current 62 to 64.
The government criticized that “the mayor is putting a price on the citizens by supporting the strike,” but the city countered that “the government caused the strike.” In an appearance on a radio program on the 17th, Interior Minister Dharmanan said, “We respect the right to strike, but we cannot accept that there will be a health risk.” Police authorities have revealed that they are encouraging union members to return to work, but it is not clear whether this will lead to an improvement in the situation.
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