Scenes of chaos in France as protesters storm the stock exchange in Paris

Hundreds of protesters in France stormed the office running the stock exchange in Paris on Thursday as protests against President Macron’s pension reform continue.

Protesters waving flags and holding flares occupied Euronext, chanting: “We are here, we are here, even if Macron does not want it, we are here.”

The slogan became popular as huge crowds gathered for the protests and strikes that broke out in January, sometimes violently. They also called on Mr Macron to step down.

Anger over pension reform continues unabated despite the fact that the law has already gone into effect. Macron and his government say they want to move forward and work on other measures relating to working conditions, law and order, education and health. But protesters in La Defense on Thursday, as well as those who criticized Macron during a visit to France’s eastern Alsace region on Wednesday, made it clear they did not agree with the decision. “We will continue until the abolition (of the pension law),” shouted the protesters in the central square of La Defense, standing near a banner reading “No to pension reform.”

Macron’s decision to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 continues to generate strong backlash in society. Protesters are increasingly targeting “symbols of capitalism and business in France”, one of which is the stock exchange, according to Bloomberg, after organized protests in recent weeks have had little effect on the government’s plans.

JUST IN – Protesters invade Euronext, the Paris Stock Exchange after anger against Macron’s pension reformpic.twitter.com/TixNnDFwno

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) April 20, 2023

The company’s lobby, located in Paris’s La Dantin business district, was filled with red smoke from flares from protesters, it’s unclear how long they stayed in the offices. A representative of the stock exchange said that the protest did not affect its activities and did not disrupt trade. Previous protests have been directed against the offices of LVMH, BlackRock and Natixis.

Coup de chaud devant chez Hermès Paris.https://t.co/nzrwYsb0sV pic.twitter.com/yZsruuxy2R

— Coco (@Cocolasticooo) April 20, 2023

Elsewhere in the French capital, wooden pallets were set on fire as striking railroad workers staged a peaceful demonstration at the Gare de Lyon as part of a “day of expressing the wrath of the railroad workers”. Macron himself faced the protests personally on Thursday, during his second public appearance since the bill was signed.

While he was visiting school in the southern French city of Ganges, smiling and taking selfies with students, protesters who were detained by police a few hundred meters away were also chanting against pension reform. “A bit of everything,” Macron said in the schoolyard, ignoring the protests, cynically declaring: “There are people who are happy and people who are unhappy.”

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