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Trash Continues to Pile Up in Paris as Collectors Strike Against Pension Reform - bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Garbage collectors in Paris will continue to strike through next Monday in protest of President Emmanuel Macron’s bill to raise the minimum retirement age.
The CGT union has taken measures to ensure that the strike will last through Monday, François Livartowski, federal secretary of the union’s public services branch, said in a text message.
For the past two weeks, streets in the French capital have been littered with overflowing trash containers. Some were even set on fire by protesters in one of the most visible signs of public frustration over pension reform.
According to city officials, around 9,500 tonnes of trash remained on the city’s sidewalks as of Wednesday, with only about a hundred garbage trucks in service, Le Parisien newspaper reported. Around 250 trucks circulate the city on normal days, Livartowski said.
READ: Paris Garbage Woes Demonstrate the Power of Sanitation Strikes
Half of the city’s arrondissements rely on municipal workers to collect trash. Since last week, authorities have requisitioned 674 workers and 11 contracting companies, Paris police said in a statement, responding to Bloomberg questions.
