Yellow Vest redux? French union unrest spirals

Macron's move to force through pension reforms could see hardliners turning violent

PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to force through his pension reforms by short-circuiting Parliament, unions and public opinion could rekindle social unrest reminiscent of the Yellow Vest movement, union leaders predict.

Protests against the government's use of a special constitutional provision, known as Article 49.3, to sweep aside parliamentary opposition to the reforms have been angrier than anything seen over the past two months.

Unions, united in coordinating their protests, have called for a ninth strike day on Thursday, but many expressed fears they could lose control of the protests as more radical demonstrators set the tone.

"Yes, we are worried," Mr Cyril Chabanier, the head of the moderate CFTC union, told AFP.

Commentators have begun to wonder whether the hardening of fronts could herald the return of the Yellow Vests, a grassroots movement that started in 2018 as a protest against rising fuel prices.

It snowballed into the biggest social action against Mr Macron in his first term, the protests often marked by clashes with security forces and damage to property.

"It's a social law of physics," said Mr Jean-Marie Pernot, a political scientist specialising in trade unions.