French bin strike: Paris holds its nose as waste piles up
A week into a waste collectors’ strike, bins are overflowing in several parts of Paris, and hundreds of tonnes of trash are being left on the streets of the French city. One Parisian complained on French radio that it was filthy and attracted rats and bugs.
The Macron administration’s plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 is the reason why the workers are on strike. Le Havre, Nantes, and Rennes are among the other cities that are impacted.
Trash collectors joined the pension strikes a week ago, and according to the Paris authorities, the action has affected half of the city’s municipal worker-served regions. A fourth station that treats garbage has been partially shuttered, while three have been blockaded.
The Paris government reported on Monday that 5,600 tonnes of rubbish still needed to be collected.
One pundit on Europe1 radio compared the scenario to a free-for-all smorgasbord for Paris’ six million rats—more than twice as many as there are people living there.
According to Paris Council, the service was operating almost normally in the 10 districts serviced by private enterprises. According to some reports, activists were attempting to stop collecting from happening.
Additionally, one private business was observed on Monday evening by news station BFMTV picking up trash in the sixth, one of the major central districts, which is typically handled by council workers. On the western outskirts of the city, two more areas had similar bin collecting going on.
Leading council official Emmanuel Grégoire said the situation was complicated but the authority was prioritising intervention for public safety, with a focus on clearing food markets, bin bags lying on the ground and ensuring pedestrian safety.
The upper house or Senate approved the measures on Saturday, and on Wednesday, a joint committee of lawmakers from both houses will deliberate on the final language. The National Assembly and Senate might receive a final vote on Thursday.
The lower house is not controlled by President Emmanuel Macron’s party, thus passage of the law is far from certain.
In order to pass the measures, the government needs 287 votes, and even if it can persuade all 250 of its MPs to support them, it still has to find 37 additional parliamentarians from other parties to support raising the retirement age.
Republicans are anticipated to make up a large portion of those extra votes, therefore the government is determined to avoid rushing the legislation through without their support.
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