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The pension reform planned by President Emmanuel Macron (45) stinks for many French people – and the mountains of garbage that have been growing for a week are an impressive expression of this negative attitude. About 70 percent of the French are against raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, which will make it especially difficult for people with heavy work.
Among them are the garbage collectors, which is why many of them have been on strike for a good week. By Monday, about 5,600 tons of rubbish had accumulated in the streets of Paris.
“It’s disgusting, there are rats everywhere,” Aphaia Samios, who is sitting on a terrace on the busy shopping street Montorgueil, told AFP news agency. Your view is obscured by several piles of rubbish. “Some people can hardly get through their front door anymore,” she says.
Slalom around the mountains of garbage
Tourists are also frightened by the overflowing garbage cans and plastic garbage bags, which keep piling up and sometimes bursting open. Rain showers over the weekend soaked the rubbish and increased the odor nuisance.
“I wanted to go on a trip with my boyfriend, but the garbage spoils the whole charm of the city,” says Claudia Harmand, a German visitor to Paris near the Opéra Garnier. “It stinks and you have to slalom around the mountains of rubbish.”
American tourist Mark has little sympathy for the strikes. “It’s unhygienic and not good for tourism,” he says. “The retirement age here has long been much higher. If you have to raise the retirement age because otherwise you don’t have enough money, the strikes won’t help either,” he says.
“I already know that I will be poor in old age”
In Paris, private and municipal companies share waste collection. Currently, it is mainly the neighborhoods where the municipal waste collection service is in use that are affected. But the strikes hinder not only the collection of waste, but also its disposal, as three incinerators around Paris are also blocked.
“We are out and working every day whether it rains, snows or storms,” Nabil Latreche, a 44-year-old garbage collector, describes his work. “If you stand on the back of the garbage truck, you inhale a lot of harmful gases. The work is very tiring,” he explains.
“I am already aware that I will be poor when I get older,” says Murielle Gaeremynck, a 56-year-old who has worked in the garbage collection service for two decades. She reports falls from trucks, chronic inflammation and back problems due to the lack of suspension in the smaller garbage trucks.
Reform is very thoughtful of people
Socialist Parisian mayor Anne Hidalgo (63) expressed her solidarity with the garbage collectors. The city of Paris points out that other cities have also been affected by the strike of the garbage collectors.
The government emphasizes that the reform will take into account people who started working very early or who have heavy work. Garbage collection workers can currently retire at age 57, after the reform they would have to work until age 59. Many employees think that is too long.
They want to continue striking for the time being, even though the chances of halting the reform are slim. The Mediation Committee will consider the bill on Wednesday. The government hopes for a final vote on Thursday. (AFP)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
