Protesters in France Storm BlackRock Building

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Facts

  • As protests over pension reforms continued to grip French cities, demonstrators forced their way into the building of US investment giant BlackRock in Paris on Thursday.1
  • Videos shared on social media showed protesters entering the lobby of the historic Centorial building, proceeding to chant slogans while waving red flares and setting off smoke bombs. They did not reach the company's offices on the third floor and reportedly vacated after about 10 minutes.1
  • While BlackRock had no part to play in French Pres. Emmanuel Macron's decision to lift the pension age from 62 to 64, protesters said the move benefitted the US firm which manages private pensions.2
  • One protester named Françoise Onic said: 'The government wants to throw away pensions, it wants to force people to fund their retirement with private pension funds, but what we know is that only the rich will be able to benefit from such a setup.'2
  • By Thursday, the protests had entered their 11th day. They also targeted a branch of Credit Agricole, which had its windows smashed, as well as setting fire to the La Rotonde restaurant — the location where Macron famously celebrated his 2017 election win.2
  • France’s interior ministry said 154 police officers had been injured on Thursday, with 13 requiring hospital treatment. It added that the police had arrested at least 111 protesters; meanwhile, the Observatory of Street Medics said at least 110 people were injured, 13 of them were hospitalized.3

Sources: 1CNN, 2New York Post and 3Washington Post.

Narratives

  • Right narrative, as provided by Connexionfrance. French citizens have to embrace pension reforms. With longer life expectancies and an aging population, the cost to the state's coffers has become unsustainable. France needs to get with the times and raise the pension age like all other European countries have done.
  • Left narrative, as provided by France 24. Despite those that say the numbers are unsustainable, the deficit for future years is not as dramatic as Macron and his supporters make it out to be. Besides, there are other ways of raising the necessary money outside of raising the pension age — including reversing the tax cuts for businesses that Macron's government itself has implemented.