Chaotic Demo In France, 309 People Arrested

UNSPLASH/Martti Salmi ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - French police arrested 309 people, including 134 people detained, during a national protest attended by 1 million people against pension reform and a decrease in purchasing power.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau welcomed France's statement "not blocked" even though he described the existence of "7,300 radicalized individuals."

The strike, launched on September 18 at calls from several unions, withdrew more than 500 thousand demonstrators, according to authorities, while the CGT union claimed participation exceeded 1 million.

Reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Friday, September 19, the French Interior Ministry said the arrests were mostly related to violence, property damage, and unlicensed parades.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu strongly criticized the "violences" targeting police and "the damage caused" during the protests.

Seven police officers, 10 protesters, and a journalist were injured in the demonstration, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday (18/9).

However, the union praised the mobilization as a "successful" and is expected to meet Lecornu "in the coming days" to negotiate.

The prime minister stressed that the demands voiced by trade unions and protesters were "core" of ongoing consultations.

The September 18 action follows the mobilization of "Block Everything" (Blokir All) last week, which attracted nearly 197,000 people across the country.

France faced escalating political tensions after Bayrou lost a vote of distrust at the National Assembly on September 8.

Bayrou, which launched its 2026 budget framework in July, is seeking support for a savings plan of nearly 44 billion euros (approximately IDR 860.3 trillion) as part of an effort to reduce France's soaring public debt, which is now 113 percent of GDP.

French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu as the country's new prime minister, where he was assigned to hold consultations with political parties before forming his government.

France has one of the largest budget deficits in the European Union, which is 5.8 percent of GDP. Budget negotiations have become a major source of tension in French politics.