Gazeta Lodz - Macron booed by angry French after signing pensions reform

Macron had been encouraged by allies to get out and meet voters after signing the reform after months of protests, with some fearing he was becoming too reclusive inside the presidential palace.

But as he arrived in Selestat in the Alsace region, some locals chanted slogans including "Macron resign!" and booed and jeered the 45-year-old, with some personally heckling him.

One man accused him of having a "corrupt government on a scale we have never seen before", adding for good measure: "You will fall soon, you'll see".

Macron told the man his ideas were "unfair".

Asked by a journalist how he felt about the booing, the president replied: "I have had it worse."

It was not all condemnation and some people offered him encouragement, including one retiree who told him: "Keep going."

Macron commented: "There are people who are not happy. Everyone should be free to express themselves. Afterwards, the country has to go forward."

- Saucepans -

On an earlier stage of his trip Wednesday, police pushed back dozens of protesters banging kitchenware ahead of the president's arrival in the village of Muttersholtz.

Pot-bashing, a form of protest with a long history in France, began during Macron's address to the nation on Monday evening after he signed the bill into law over the weekend.

"It's not saucepans that will enable France to move forward," Macron said as he visited a wood factory in the village.

"The reality across the country is not just those making noise with pans or grumbling."

"You will always see me with people... I have to keep going," he added.

The president made very few public appearances to speak to voters during the three months leading up to the legislation being signed into law, whose flagship measure is hiking the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Political opponents and trade unions have urged protesters to maintain their campaign against the law and called for a new day of mass protest on May 1.

- 'Expressions of anger' -

The images of the heckling comes as polls show Macron's popularity ratings close to their lowest ever levels.

The next presidential elections in France are not until 2027 and Macron by law cannot stand a third consecutive time. But analysts have warned the current situation is playing into the hands of far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

The scenes recall Macron's visits around France during the so-called "Yellow Vest" protests of 2018-19, when the head of state was frequently confronted by angry hecklers or protesters.

On Tuesday evening, a private trip by Macron to Saint-Denis, northeast of Paris, also saw around 300 demonstrators voice their anger at his pension changes.

"People will make themselves heard but that's part of the moment," an aide to the president told reporters on Wednesday, adding that there would be "expressions of anger most probably, support perhaps."

The head of state was slapped in the face in 2021 by a 28-year-old unemployed mediaeval history enthusiast during a visit to a small town in southeastern France.

After Wednesday's visits, Macron is set to visit a school in the southern Herault region on Thursday.

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M.Bartosz--GL