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PARIS—The protest movement against President Emmanuel Macron ’s bill to raise France’s retirement age is drawing support from a new cohort: the young. French people in their late teens and early 20s are flocking to protests even though Mr. Macron says his overhaul is designed to preserve France’s financially challenged pension system for younger generations.

☆ French Protests Grow Volatile in Test for Macron
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron faced a nationwide demonstration Tuesday as the protest movement against his pension overhaul has begun to morph into a violent rebuke of presidential power. More than 13,000 police officers were deployed across the country, including 5,500 in Paris, for protests that were expected to draw more young people. Many say they have been spurred by Mr. Macron’s decision to invoke a special provision of the French constitution to raise the retirement age without a vote in the National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament.

☆ King Charles III’s Trip to France Postponed Amid Unrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

King Charles III is still set to visit Germany as planned. PARIS—The French government postponed a visit by Britain’s King Charles III amid widespread strikes that threatened to disrupt a protocol-heavy event aimed at solidifying Anglo-French ties that had been strained by Brexit. President Emmanuel Macron ’s office said the government decided to reschedule the king’s first overseas official visit after unions called for a day of new nationwide protests on Tuesday against the government’s pension overhaul.

☆ French Workers Mount First Nationwide Protest Since Macron Pushed Through Pension Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—Workers across France walked off the job and took to the streets Thursday in the first organized nationwide demonstration since President Emmanuel Macron pushed his pension overhaul through Parliament. Teachers, train drivers, nurses, oil-refinery staff and other workers marched in protests from Paris to Marseille. Trains and public transportation were severely curtailed Thursday, and many schools across the country were forced to shut down. Hundreds of domestic and international flights were canceled.

☆ Over a Million French Protesters March Against Macron’s Pension-Age Raise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Sam Schechner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—More than a million protesters took to the streets across France on Thursday in a full-throated rebuke of President Emmanuel Macron ’s decision to push his pension overhaul through Parliament. The turnout, which produced a river of humanity that snaked through the boulevards of Paris, was a sign that public resistance to Mr. Macron’s overhaul isn’t letting up even as the measures are set to become law.

☆ France Pension Protests Test Depth of Resistance to Macron’s Push to Raise Retirement Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Sam Schechner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—Workers across France walked off the job and took to the streets in the first organized nationwide demonstration since President Emmanuel Macron pushed his pension overhaul through Parliament. Turnout at the protests on Thursday will provide an indication of how much momentum protesters still have to continue demonstrations now that the bill is set to become law. Spontaneous protests, some of them violent, have erupted around the country since Mr. Macron decided a week ago to invoke a special provision of the French Constitution to bypass Parliament and raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030.

The president, the government and the majority," a senior MP in Macron's camp, Gilles Le Gendre, told Liberation newspaper. Another MP in Macron's camp, Patrick Vignal, bluntly urged the president to suspend the pension reform bill, which will raise the retirement age by two years to 64, given the anger it has triggered, and its deep unpopularity. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes 1 2 3 4 5While Borne said the administration would try in future to better involve citizens and unions in lawmaking, she gave no specifics, and both said they had devoted as much time to dialogue on the pension bill as possible. Other opposition MPs urged Macron to fire Borne, call snap elections and hold a referendum on the pension bill because of the widespread anger. Polls show a wide majority of French are opposed to the pension reform, as well as the government's decision to push the bill through parliament without a vote.

☆ Macron’s Government Survives No Confidence Vote in National Assembly
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron ’s government narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly on Monday, fending off an effort to kill his contentious pension overhaul and topple his administration. The no-confidence motion spearheaded by a group of centrists won the support of 278 lawmakers in the lower house of parliament, a mere nine votes short of a majority.

☆ Macron Skips Consensus to Govern Like Jupiter in Raising France’s Retirement Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Stacy Meichtry | Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—When France’s President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected last year he vowed to turn the page on his tendency to exercise power in a style he once described as “Jupiterian,” a reference to the king of the gods in ancient Roman mythology. Mr. Macron said he would govern as a consensus builder in his second term, piecing together majority votes in a highly polarized Parliament.

☆ France’s Macron to Face No-Confidence Votes Over Pension Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Matthew Dalton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to face no-confidence votes early next week aimed at bringing down his government and killing his overhaul of France’s pension system. A group of centrist lawmakers opposed to Mr. Macron filed a no-confidence motion on Friday with the backing of at least 58 members of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament. Far-right National Rally also put forward its own no-confidence motion against the government on Friday.

☆ France’s Macron to Face No-Confidence Vote Over Pension Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Matthew Dalton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to face a vote of no confidence early next week aimed at bringing down his government and killing his overhaul of France’s pension system. A group of centrist lawmakers opposed to Mr. Macron filed a no-confidence motion on Friday with the backing of at least 58 members of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

☆ Dilemma for France’s Macron: to Govern, or Not to Govern, as an Imperious ‘Jupiter’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Stacy Meichtry | Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—When French President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected last year he vowed to turn the page on his tendency to exercise power in a style he once described as “Jupiterian,” a reference to the king of the gods in ancient Roman mythology. Mr. Macron said he would govern as a consensus builder in his second term, piecing together majority votes in a highly polarized Parliament.

☆ Farming and tourism under threat as winter drought dries up France's Lake Montbel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Manuel Ausloos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

PARIS, March 17 (Reuters) - Set at foot of the Pyrenees mountains, Lake Montbel is famous in south-west France for its turquoise waters, massive size and thriving aquatic life. For the month of February, the Ariege region, where Lake Montbel is located, has suffered from a rainfall shortage of 80%. Lake Montbel is an artificial lake, which extends over 570 hectares and was created in 1985 by flooding what used to be a forested area. "Lake Montbel, in fact, is the guarantee of income ... Mascarenc uses water from the nearby Ariege river and not from Montbel Lake.

Cars were torched in Paris and other French cities in the evening during otherwise peaceful demonstrations involving several thousand people. "Something fundamental happened, and that is that, immediately, spontaneous mobilisations took place throughout the country," hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said. Protests took place in cities including Toulon on Friday, and more were planned for the weekend. Macron will want to turn the page quickly, with government officials already preparing more socially minded reforms. Amid the unrest on Thursday evening, someone had tagged on a shop front: "Let's destroy what destroys us."

☆ Macron Government Bypasses France’s National Assembly to Pass Pension Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—The government of French President Emmanuel Macron invoked a special provision of France’s constitution Thursday to bypass parliament and increase the country’s retirement age, an act of defiance that escalates the leader’s standoff with street protesters and opposition lawmakers. The use of Article 49 of the French constitution allows the Macron government to enact a contentious overhaul of France’s pension system after it struggled to cobble together enough votes in Parliament. But the maneuver comes at a high political price: Protesters and opposition parties that have painted Mr. Macron as an authoritarian now have more ammunition to mobilize the masses.

☆ French Protesters Pour Into Streets Ahead of Parliament Vote on Pension Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protesters attend a demonstration Wednesday in Escaudoeuvres, France, against the government’s pension reform plan. PARIS—Hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into the streets across France on Wednesday, piling pressure on President Emmanuel Macron to ditch his plans to raise the country’s retirement age as the measure heads for a crucial vote in Parliament. Teachers, nurses, train drivers and other workers walked off the job and marched in demonstrations from Paris to Nice, the eighth such protest since unions launched their campaign to oppose Mr. Macron’s overhaul.

☆ Protests Erupt in France Over Plan to Raise Retirement Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Striking public sector workers have hobbled swathes of the French economy. Garbage collection in Paris has come to a complete halt in parts of the city. For more than a week, trash has been piling up on sidewalks and avenues that are usually manicured. Nathan Laine/Bloomberg News

☆ The Party Is Ending for French Retirees
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Photographs Violette Franchi For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MENTON, France—Jean-Pierre Demoy has been living the dream ever since he retired from the airline industry 14 years ago. The 75-year-old sleeps in and strolls the beach while others in this sun-kissed town on the French Riviera report to work. Weekends are for dancing with his partner Roseline Soudan, 73. They are planning a trip to Greece in the spring after spending the fall in Italy.

☆ France-U.K. Summit Seeks to Thaw Tensions Between Two Nations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Max Colchester | Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron is rolling out the red carpet Friday for U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak , as Europe’s two biggest military powers look to end years of bad blood and present a united front against Russia. Mr. Sunak, accompanied by several senior members of his cabinet, will meet with the French president in Paris to discuss issues including defense cooperation, energy security and plans to tackle illegal migration. The aim of the fanfare at the Élysée Palace is to show how the two countries have moved on from years of bickering after Britain’s messy divorce from the European Union.

☆ France-U.K. Summit Rekindles ‘Le Bromance’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Max Colchester | Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron is rolling out the red carpet Friday for U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak , as Europe’s two biggest military powers look to end years of bad blood and present a united front against Russia. Mr. Sunak, accompanied by several senior members of his cabinet, is meeting with the French president in Paris to discuss issues including defense cooperation, energy security and plans to tackle illegal migration. The aim of the fanfare at the Élysée Palace is to show how the two countries have moved on from years of bickering after Britain’s messy divorce from the European Union.

☆ French Strikes Escalate Campaign Against Macron’s Pension Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protesters, in Paris on Tuesday, hope to force the French government to reverse course on its proposed pension overhaul. PARIS—Workers across France walked off the job and took to the streets Tuesday, kicking off what unions are touting as an open-ended standoff with President Emmanuel Macron over his plans to raise the retirement age. Tuesday’s mobilization marks a major escalation in the campaign to stop Mr. Macron’s overhaul. The French leader has withstood several daylong strikes since the start of the year, with two demonstrations each drawing as many as a million protesters.

☆ French Workers Hold Fresh Strikes Against Macron’s Pension Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protesters turned out across France on Thursday for the fifth time in four weeks. PARIS—Thousands of people went on strike and took to the streets Thursday to protest French President Emmanuel Macron ’s plan to raise the country’s retirement age, turning up the pressure on his government as parliamentary debates over the measures intensify. For the fifth time in four weeks, teachers, train drivers, nurses, oil-refinery staff and other workers marched in demonstrations from Paris to Marseille. The protests are aimed at pressuring the Macron government to reverse a plan to raise the retirement age to 64 years old from 62 by 2030.

☆ Journalist Who Cried ‘No to War’ on Russian TV Fled to France
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Matthew Dalton | Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Marina Ovsyannikova described her departure from Russia at a press conference in Paris on Friday. PARIS—Marina Ovsyannikova, a Russian journalist who denounced the Ukraine war on a Kremlin-owned television station, has been living in France after being smuggled out of Russia last fall, she said at a press conference Friday in the French capital. Ms. Ovsyannikova had been living under house arrest in Moscow and fitted with an electronic bracelet. Russian authorities in August had charged her with spreading false information for staging an antiwar protest near the Kremlin the month before.

☆ Lawmakers’ Support for Macron’s Pension Overhaul in France Falters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Workers in France’s education, transportation, healthcare and refinery sectors staged union-led strikes Tuesda, aimed at forcing the government to reverse course on its plan to raise the retirement age. PARIS—Continuing strike action is eroding parliamentary support for French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposed pension overhaul, with workers staging a new walkout that snarled traffic, canceled trains and shut some schools across the country. For the third time in three weeks, teachers, bus drivers, nurses, oil-refinery workers and others staged union-led strikes Tuesday aimed at forcing the government to reverse course on its plan to raise the retirement age from 62 years old to 64 by 2030. Masses of people took to the streets in demonstrations against the proposed overhaul that sprawled over dozens of French cities and towns including Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse.

☆ Netanyahu, Macron to Discuss Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions in Paris
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Shayndi Raice | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the threat posed by Iran’s military and nuclear ambitions. During a dinnertime meeting at the Élysée Palace, Messrs. Netanyahu and Macron are also expected to talk about how to reinforce and extend the Abraham Accords—a series of deals signed by Israel and nearby Arab countries to normalize their relations—according to an Israeli official.

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