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French pension reform protests marred by violent clashes

Protests against pension reform were marred by clashes between radical groups of protesters and French police in Paris on Thursday that saw a famous restaurant set partially ablaze and dozens of police officers injured. There were also clashes in the western cities of Rennes and Nantes.

Published: 6 April 2023 16:30 CEST
Updated: 6 April 2023 20:14 CEST
French pension reform protests marred by violent clashes
French CRS riot police charge during a demonstration at Place d'Italie in Paris on the 11th day of action against pension reform. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)

Around 570,000 people demonstrated against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms across France Thursday, 57,000 of them in Paris, the interior ministry said, in a count sharply lower than previous weeks’ protests.

The protests in Paris saw violent clashes between more radical elements among demonstrators and French riot police. Police reported that 77 officers had been injured including 13 were needed hospital treatment. Over 30 arrests were made in relation to the disturbances. 

As the march came to an end at Place d’Italie French police fired teargas and charged protesters, some of whom hurled objects and bottles at officers.

A firefighter extinguishes a fire during a demonstration at Place d’Italie, Paris on the 11th day of action after the government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote, using the article 49.3 of the constitution, in Paris on April 6, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)

Earlier the famous bistro La Rotonde, mear Montparnasse was partially ablaze on Thursday, with arsonists having apparently set fire to the restaurant’s awning as pension reform protests passed the venue.

The Thursday blaze was quickly extinguished by firefighters.

Police formed a cordon in front of the restaurant, and were pelted with projectiles and paint by some black-clad people from within the protest.

French gendarmes form a cordon around the “La Rotonde” brasserie where a worker uses a fire-extinguisher to put out flames on the restaurant’s awning, during clashes with protesters on the sidelines of a demonstration on the 11th day of action. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP)

La Rotonde was also severely damaged during the ‘yellow vest’ protests of 2018 – it is the restaurant where President Emmanuel Macron celebrated his election victory in 2017.

Marches and demonstrations took place once again across France on Thursday, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets to show their anger with the government’s pension reform.

The demos were predominantly nonviolent, but as well as Paris clashes took place in Rennes and Nantes in western France.

In the western city of Nantes, some radical protesters threw rocks at police, who responded with tear gas, an AFP photographer saw. Over 20 arrests were made.

In Bordeaux people drinking on cafe terraces were forced to flee after police fired teargas towards protesters taking part in an unauthorised march.

But other rallies appeared largely peaceful with several featuring dancing demonstrators or brass bands.

In Paris, striking railway workers occupied the former headquarters of the Credit Lyonnais bank, a famed building that now houses companies including the BlackRock investment firm, setting off smoke flares and whistling in a 20-minute action.

Activists also staged a blockade at Charles de Gaulle airport on Thursday morning, while striking rail workers briefly blocked the train station in Angouleme.

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PARIS

Paris unveils sweeping transport price changes for 2025

From introducing a single ticket for the Metro and commuter RER trains, to new advantages with the Liberté + pass, here is how Paris regional transport authorities plan to change prices starting in January 2025.

Published: 18 September 2024 16:07 CEST
Paris unveils sweeping transport price changes for 2025

The head of the Paris region and leader of Ile-de-France Mobilités, Valérie Pécresse, announced on Tuesday that there would be wide ranging changes to the prices for public transport tickets, taking effect from January 2nd, 2025. 

The biggest change is introducing a single price for all journeys in the region – in contrast the current system where journeys into Paris from the outer suburbs are more expensive, in effect penalising commuters who live further out.

For example, under the previous system, taking the commuter train from Fontainebleau to Paris could cost up to €5, in contrast to the €2.15 ticket to get around inside Paris.

Pécresse explained to Le Parisien that the main goal is simplification and fairness.

“The aim is to take a ‘single Navigo pass’ to its logical conclusion. The principle that all Ile-de-France residents pay the same transport fair, whether they live in the suburbs or the city.

“[The change] will bring an end to the 50,000 different fares that have become unreadable and are sometimes unfair. It’s a real social project based on fairness and freedom,” Pécresse said.

Many of the capital’s lowest-paid workers live in the less expensive outer suburbs, and they have been effectively penalised by the current pricing structure.

However there are other changes coming down the line too.

Here are the changes;

Credit: Ile-de-France Mobilités

Metro and RER

The Paris Metro system, as well as the commuter RER lines, will be combined onto one single ticket, costing €2.50 for any journey within the greater Paris region.

This means that a transport user could switch from the RER and onto the Metro with the same ticket, regardless of how far they have travelled or how many zones they have crossed.

This change will represent an increase of €0.35 (from the €2.15) from the 2024 price for single Metro tickets inside the city.

However, for people travelling to and from the Paris suburbs, the single ticket will likely save them a significant amount.

For example, a journey between Paris and Noisy-le-Grand (Zone 4) cost €4.15 under the previous system, but it will cost €2.50 under the new system.

The only exception to this is tickets to and from Paris’ airports (more on that below).

Bus and tram

A new ticket will be created for the bus and tram lines. This will cost be separate to the Metro and RER ticket, and it will cost €2 per journey. 

However, those purchasing a bus ticket on-board (via SMS) will still pay a heightened price of €2.50.

The other change will be ‘long-distance’ bus journeys. Previously, if a journey took longer than one hour and thirty minutes and involved more than one bus, then the user would have had to pay for two separate tickets per bus ride. Moving forward, ‘long’ bus journeys will cost just one €2 ticket.

This change means that transport users will need to think about buying separate Metro/ RER and bus/tram tickets if their journey requires both methods of transport.

For example, if you take the RER and then take a bus, you would need two separate tickets, as Metro/RER tickets are only valid on those lines, and bus/tram tickets are only valid on those lines.

Liberté +

This pay-as-you-go card will be made significantly more attractive under the new system, but it is only available to Paris region residents. 

You have to subscribe online and connect the account to your RIB, for which you will need a French bank account. You can also track your consumption online, and at the end of the month you pay the total amount that you travelled.

The changes for the Liberté + will include a lower price for Metro/RER journeys (€1.99) and a reduced rate for bus/tram journeys (€1.60).

If you take a journey that combines the Metro and the bus, for example, then you would only pay one price (€1.99) for the entire journey, rather than needing to purchase two separate single tickets.

The other change is that the Liberté + will extend to the rest of Ile-de-France – it was previously only available inside of Paris (Zone 1).

And starting in spring 2025, the Liberté + will be available to load directly onto an Android or iOS enabled smartphone.

Generally, the Liberté + will be a more advantageous option for local residents to pay reduced prices and as-they-go.

Packets of 10 tickets

The ‘carnets’, or 10-ticket books, will be phased out entirely starting in January 2025.

The paper version of these booklets was already phased out, but a reduced price for a bundle of 10 tickets will no longer be available in any form starting in January.

If you want to purchase a bundle of tickets at once, you can still do so – and you can still store them on a Navigo Easy pass – but you will have to pay full price (€2.50 each or €25 for 10).

Trips to the airport

Trips to and from Paris’ airports will be the only exception to the new €2.50 flat rate.

Previously, trips to the airport cost a varying amount based on whether you took the Roissy/Charles de Gaulle bus (€16.60), Roissy/Charles de Gaulle RER (€11.80), Orly bus (€11.50), or Orly Line 14 (€10.30).

Moving forward, only one flat price of €13 will be charged for any and all trips to the airport.

Daily pass

Daily Metro passes, popular amongst tourists, allow for unlimited travel. Previously, they were priced based on the zones the visitor selected – so if you selected a two-zone option (Zones 1-2; Zones 2-3; Zones 3-4, etc) then you would pay €8.65 for the day.

A three-zone option (Zones 1-3, Zones 2-4, Zones 3-5) cost €11.60. The four zone option (Zones 1-4, Zones 2-5) cost €14.35, and the full option (Zones 1-5) cost €20.60.

However, the zoning will be scrapped from January, and instead, single day passes will cover all five zones and cost a flat price of €12. This does not include airports, however, so a separate airport ticket would be required.

Visitor pass

As for the visitor pass – this previously allowed two options for unlimited daily travel in the Paris area – either including just Zones 1-3 for €13.95 (per day), or including all five zones (and airports) for €29.95 (per day).

The new version will cost €29.90 and it will include all five zones, plus airports.

What about monthly and yearly Navigo passes?

Pécresse explained to Le Parisien that these will not change, as the focus is primarily on occasional travellers.

“For Navigo subscribers, nothing is changing. We are working within the framework of the agreement signed with the state, so future increases of these passes will always be less than or equal to inflation plus one percent,” Pécresse said.

What will the general impact be?

This will depend on whether you are a resident of the city of Paris (Zone 1), the Paris suburbs, or if you are a visitor. 

For residents of Paris and the inner suburbs travel with single tickets inside the city will get more expensive, but the Liberté + plan is meant to offset these increases.

Meanwhile, outer suburb residents will likely see a significant decrease in their spending.

On the other hand occasional Metro users will see an increase in price while tourists and visitors will also see an increase.

What about my old tickets?

Any old paper tickets or individual electronic tickets (perhaps stored on a Navigo Easy pass) will still be functional until December 31st, 2025.

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