The French are upset with their government's economic and social policies. Those aged between 18 and 24 are the most opposed to the new cabinet measures, a recent poll suggests. As the strike against the nationwide pension reform continues, production at an oil refinery has drawn to a halt and Paris is covered in garbage.

French people are increasingly dissatisfied with their government’s economic and social measures, with 51 per cent being opposed to its policies, a poll by CNews reveals.

The news portal points out that the youngest age group (18 to 24) are the most angry about the French government’s economic and social policies, with 58 per cent saying yes to the question of whether they are upset with their government’s economic and social policies. This age group is followed by those aged between 35 and 49 with 54 per cent, and those aged 50 to 64 with 51 per cent. Among the over-65s, 46 per cent said they were „very angry” about the economic and social policies of the government.

In terms of gender, 53 per cent of women are extremely angry about the French administration’s actions, compared to 49 per cent of men.

Looking at political affiliation, the voters of the leftist Unbowed France party and the radical leftists are the angriest with the French government, with 86 per cent responding with a „yes” to the above-mentioned question. They are followed by Green Party supporters with 60 per cent, and the Socialists with 45 per cent. It comes as no surprise that supporters of the governing party are the most tolerant of the government’s policies, but even among them, 21 per cent are outraged by the French leadership’s policies. As for right-wing voters, 76 per cent of National Rally supporters and 72 per cent of Eric Zemmour’s Reconquete party supporters said they were extremely angry with the economic and social policies of the government, compared to 33 per cent of The Republicans voters.

The pension reform the government wants to introduce has triggered a protest wave of historic proportions in France, with regular demonstrations since 10 January 2023, CNews points out. The last national strike took place on 7 March. It was the sixth large-scale demonstration since the beginning of the year, with 1.28 million people taking to the streets across the country to protest against the planned pension reforms, according to the interior ministry. An estimate issued by the CGT union spoke of 3.5 million. participants.

The strike is still under way in several places. The striking employees of the Feyzin oil refinery at Lyon decided to completely halt production on 8 May.

‼️ Rassemblement devant la Raffinerie de feyzin en grève ! La réforme des retraites c est NON ‼️ pic.twitter.com/0IbKCP8PyZ

— FNIC-CGT Rhône-Alpes (@FNIC_CGT_RA) March 8, 2023

As restarting a refinery could take 1-2 weeks, the strike in the Lyon plant could be quite lengthy, another tweet points out.

Les grévistes ont décidé de l’arrêt complet des installations de la raffinerie de Feyzin á Lyon. La production d’une raffinerie met une á deux semaines á redémarrer ce qui annonce une grève longue #greve8mars #ReformeDesRetraites #GreveGenerale #BlocageDeLaFrance #64ansCestNon pic.twitter.com/pibX7nGlqh

— Anonyme Citoyen (@AnonymeCitoyen) March 8, 2023

Other refineries are also experiencing partial shutdowns and reduced production, BFMTV reports. The paper points out that last autumn, a chaotic situation unfolded across the country due to strikes in oil refineries and fuel storage facilities. Thousands of French people had to queue up for hours at the petrol stations amid the nationwide fuel shortage.

The strike at oil refineries is not the only one causing serious problems.

30 per cent of garbage collectors have been on strike since Tuesday in Paris, something that’s led to the accumulation of no less than 1800 tonnes of garbage on the streets of the city.

The problem is especially severe in nine districts of Paris, where garbage collection has completely stopped. BFMTV‘s journalist has filed a report from the 16th district, where the garbage bins were visibly overflowing.

Another journalist asked the owner of a Paris bakery about the situation, who said the garbage bins haven’t been emptied since Monday. She added that there were other bins which she pulled further away from the store to make the storefront more pleasant. Even so, the stench of the bins and the garbage in front of the store overpowered the smell of freshly baked pastries.

Grève des éboueurs: les déchets s’accumulent dans Paris pic.twitter.com/O6BFQhAOng

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) March 9, 2023

The young woman told the reporter that the accumulation of garbage goes hand in hand with the appearance of pests, such as mice and rats.

The journalist underlined that the overflowing garbage bins are putting a big damper on the bakery’s turnover, as no one wants to sit at the tables outside the store with the sight and lingering smell of garbage around.