France is not allowing rioters to destroy the summer season.
I arrived in Paris June 08, from London. I stayed near the Vendome. The first night I took a walk to Cafe de Flore, and went over the bridge by the assembly. On the way over we passed – what seemed like – hundreds of police.
As I walked back from dinner the police where still there. Maybe 50 police vans, with 5 or 6 police in each van. This was was clearly arranged to combat some sort of force, but what force? Then I remembered back to the May riots.
I did a little digging and found a number of details. Yes, indeed, this was a counter offense from the ongoing riots. Turns out the unions, the consortium of which is known as the “inter-syndicat” or “Inter-union,” are leading the communication related to the riots and had announced a 14th national day of protest for June 6, 2023. Two days prior.
Below is a quote from the syndicate on the June protest:
“Despite this blatant denial of democracy, this will not stop the inter-union which is calling for a demonstration and an inter-professional strike this Tuesday, June 6. After the use of article 49.3 and a first passage in force in March on the pension reform project, parliamentarians are called upon to examine a bill submitted by the deputies proposing to repeal the reform during a vote that will take place on June 8. Faced with the pressure and the will of the parliamentary opposition to repeal this deeply unjust law, this Wednesday, May 31, the government and its majority used a final legal coup to prevent the opposition from expressing itself in the National Assembly.” – Link
From Sortira Paris – “France’s trade unions are notorious for bringing the country to a standstill, but the country has one of the lowest rate of unionised employees in Europe and the numbers are falling.“
I took pictures of the graffiti along the way. Wanted to share. Pics are from Place du Concorde.
Terrible to see this in central Paris, let alone at the Concorde. – Chad
Chadwick Hagan 