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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Rachel Hagan

Bordeaux town hall seen ENGULFED in flames as protests turn streets into carnage

A town hall has been set on fire by protesters who are furious about the France's plans to raise the pension age.

Videos shared on social media showed flames engulfing the building’s front doors, as cheers can be heard from a crowd of people gathered in the town square.

Bordeaux's historic Hotel de Ville was completed in 1778, just over a decade before the French Revolution.

Polls say most French oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s bill to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, which he says is necessary to keep the system afloat.

More than a million people took to the streets across France on Thursday, according to figures from the interior ministry.

Unions have called for further protests next Tuesday, which would coincide with King Charles III's state visit to the country.

Demonstration against pension reform took place in Bordeaux (Fabien Pallueau/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)

Charles III's first state visit has been postponed, the Elysée Palace announced today. His trip to Paris and Bordeaux was due to begin on Sunday but both cities are now gripped by the uprising.

Over 450 protesters were arrested in Paris and beyond on Thursday and Mr Darmanin said that some 441 police and gendarmes were injured as violence marred some marches.

He also said that 1,000 rubbish bins were set on fire in the French capital during the previous day’s action.

There were several clashes between the demonstrators and the police (Fabien Pallueau/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)

“We’re fed up with a president who thinks he’s Louis XIV, who doesn’t listen, who thinks he’s the only one to know what’s good for this country,” said Michel Doneddu, a 72-year-old pensioner from the Paris suburbs told Agence France Presse.

He held up a placard that read, “Jupiter, the people will bring you back down to Earth”, a reference to a nickname commonly used by critics of Macron’s lofty, arrogant manner.

He continued: “We’ve had our share of useless presidents, but at least in the past they knew when to listen and when to back down. But Macron, he’s on another planet.”

Bordeaux's town hall has been set on fire by protesters (UGO AMEZ/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock)

Yesterday marked the 9th day of protests and there were also close to 1,000 fires lit on the streets of the capital.

Macron finally broke his silence this week, saying he was prepared to accept unpopularity because the bill was “necessary” and “in the general interest of the country”.

According to an Ifop poll last week, Macron’s approval rating has taken a hit, slumping to just 28 per cent. But he said he had “no regrets."

Anti-riot police during the demonstration against pension reform (Fabien Pallueau/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)

"I listened to Macron yesterday and it was as if someone was spitting in our face," said Adèle, a 19-year-old law student in Nanterre to the BBC.

She continued: "For this pension reform, there is another way and if he doesn't do that, it's because he's not listening to the people. There's a clear lack of democracy."

Teachers were among many professions to walk off the job and Labour unions fear protests could turn more violent if the government does not take action on the mounting anger over pension curbs.

"This is a response to the falsehoods expressed by the president and his incomprehensible stubbornness" Marylise Leon, deputy secretary general of the CFDT union, said.

"The responsibility of this explosive situation lies not with the unions but with the government."

It was not clear who set the historic 18th-Century door of Bordeaux town hall on fire, although it was put out by firefighters after several minutes.

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