Macron’s last adventure: the President vs the public

Every generation or so, French politics is decided on the streets. The May 1968 unrest in Paris spread worldwide; Jacques Chirac’s welfare reform agenda was ended with the 1995 disturbances. The spirit of revolt is so alive in French society that a special police force exists for such occasions, specialising in crowd control. Now President Emmanuel Macron is facing another sustained revolt. Eight weeks into the battle over his pension reforms, it’s far from clear who – if anyone – is winning.

Police cars and buildings have been set alight in Strasbourg, Lille, Saint-Étienne and Bordeaux. In Paris, bin men have just ended a three-week strike: some 10,000 tonnes of garbage is piled up on the streets and the city is infested with well-nourished rats. In western France last weekend, at the site of a proposed reservoir, violent confrontations between police and eco activists resembled scenes of war.

Such events make British strikes seem piffling.