Carla Bruni trashes Paris mayor… by mocking runaway waste crisis: France’s former first lady poses with huge pile of rubbish as protests over pension reforms continue

Former first lady Carla Bruni of France mocked the mayor of Paris by posing with a huge pile of rubbish as protests over pension reforms continue.

The latest round of protests against a law passed by the French parliament to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 has continued since Thursday and has led to hundreds of arrests across the country.

Police in Paris said on Tuesday that 234 people had been arrested in the capital, mainly for setting fire to rubbish in the street. The strike by the garbage collectors in Paris started today for the 16th day.

In an Instagram post to her 772,000 followers on Tuesday, including several flower emojis, singer and model Bruni, 55, wrote: “Printemps!!! Ecco la Primavera! Spring is here! Thank you @annehidalgo’.

Anne Hidalgo, the socialist mayor referred to in the post, said she fully supports the strikers and refuses to help the police.

Garbage cans fill up with trash on the street as collectors strike on March 20, 2023 in Paris, France

Bruni, wife of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, is known for making political statements on her social media accounts in the past.

In April 2021, she attacked the vigilante culture sweeping France in a long Instagram post.

She wrote: “Little by little and without warning do-gooders and censorship took over.

“Obsessed with their image as moralists, many people without culture, without experience and without courage try to impose their narrow ideas on us.”

General meeting of the CGT Cheminots de Versailles with around 200 protesters on March 20, 2023

French CRS riot police secure the area as they drive past burning rubbish bins during a protest in Paris March 18, 2023

A pedestrian walks past full garbage bins in Paris’ 2nd arrondissement during a garbage collection strike on March 17, 2023

Garbage floods the streets of Paris during a strike on March 18

As protests against pension reforms continue, some of Paris’ legendary narrow streets are busier than usual, forcing people on foot to wade through piles of rubbish.

In some of the most prestigious roads in central Paris, firefighters rushed to put out burning piles of rubbish that had not been picked up for days due to strikes as protesters clashed with police for a fifth night.

City Hall said that as of Monday, less than 10,000 days ago, 9,300 tons of trash were littering the streets.

Macron rammed the flagship law of his second term through parliament last week – without a vote, thanks to a special article in the constitution.

Protesters throw a garbage can during a demonstration in Nantes March 18, 2023

A barricade burns as protesters block traffic on a Paris boulevard in the early hours to distribute leaflets against the French government’s pension reforms

Abundant litter in the streets of Paris due to the strike on March 18, 2023

The government won two no-confidence motions from angry lawmakers on Monday. The bill is now considered approved.

Garbage bags and bins served as fuel for troublemakers who flooded Paris on Monday night, setting fires, as they have done in the wake of recent protests. At least 100 people were arrested.

“Waste is a good way to protest. It has a big impact,” says Tony Gibierge (36), who in a few months will open a restaurant in a street in the south of Paris that is currently strewn with rubbish.

Paris police authorities said in a statement on Tuesday that they were ordering garbage collectors to work to ensure a “minimum duty”. 674 employees are said to be affected by the orders, which left 206 garbage trucks operating last week.

Pedestrians react as they drive past a fire from household garbage bins during a protest in Bordeaux, southwestern France, March 18, 2023

A man walks past a fire made up of mattresses and garbage cans during a protest in Bordeaux, southwest France, March 18, 2023

Macron has scheduled a series of political meetings with the prime minister, parliament leaders and MPs from his centrist coalition for Tuesday.

The French president, who has made the pension plan a centerpiece of his second term, will speak on national television on Wednesday, a first since he decided last week to use a government’s constitutional special powers to push the law through parliament. force.

The move led to two motions of no confidence in the government in the House of Representatives, both of which were defeated on Monday.

A new round of union-organized strikes and protests was called for Thursday and is expected to bring public transport to a standstill again.