27 Mar 2023

Europe: Macron digs in amid protests

From Nine To Noon, 9:49 am on 27 March 2023
Protesters run in tear gas smoke next to   a street fire on the sidelines of a demonstration as part of a national day of strikes and protests, a week after the French government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote, using the article 49.3 of the constitution, in Toulouse, southern France, on March 23, 2023. - French unions on March 23 staged a new day of disruption against the president's pension reform after he defiantly vowed to implement the change, which includes raising the age of retirement from 62 to 64, saying he was prepared to accept unpopularity in the face of sometimes violent protests. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

Photo: AFP

Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney joins Kathryn to talk about French President Emmanuel Macron's refusal to budge over a plan to raise the pension age, even as demonstrations and strike action spreads. The police handling of the protests has attracted the attention of Europe's top human rights watchdog. And the EU will relax its plans to ban internal combustion engines in new cars from 2035 after pressure from Germany.