Several hundred demonstrators occupied for a few hours Wednesday, at the initiative of the CGT, an Auchan store located in the business district of La Défense, near Paris, to demand the withdrawal of the law on pensions, according to the union. Amar Lagha, secretary general of the Federation Commerce and Services of the CGT, had initially indicated that “280 to 300 people” had participated since Wednesday morning in this action aimed at “denouncing the law on pensions”.
“Even if President” Emmanuel Macron “thinks he wants to turn the page, we want to go as far as withdrawal,” he said. “We have already seen laws being withdrawn. Whatever happens, we will not let go, we will go to the end, ”he assured. The Auchan hypermarket in the 4 Temps shopping center in Puteaux (Hauts-de-Seine) had been chosen by the CGT as a place of demonstration as a “symbol of capitalism and the power of the big bosses” because it is located in the district business of La Défense, explained the trade unionist.
A police source had, for its part, estimated the number of demonstrators present at 150. In a second step, Amar Lagha indicated that the protesters had left the site, after having “demonstrated in the shopping center”.
For its part, the management of Auchan clarified that the store, which had been closed at 11:00 a.m., was able to reopen at 4:00 p.m. The sign, which said it had “brought in a security team to ensure the safety of goods and people”, affirmed that the demonstrators were “almost all outside the store”.
