The Limited Times

French police fire gases to quell protests by firefighters in Paris

10/15/2019, 6:47:30 PM


Paris - French police today used tear gas and water cannon in the French capital

Paris - Sana

PARIS (Reuters) - French police used tear gas and water cannons in Paris to quell protests by firefighters over their working conditions.

Thousands of firefighters from all over France took part in the protest, demanding better pay, guarantees of pension benefits and greater respect for their profession, Reuters reported.

Police prevented some firefighters from climbing metal barriers around the French parliament building by firing tear gas.

Protesters continued to move east of Paris despite the continued firing of gas canisters at them and confronting riot police, expressing outrage at the insistence of the French authorities to ignore their demands and not to listen to them.

President Emmanuel Macron's domestic and foreign policies have received more political and popular rejection in France, where protests from the Yellow Jackets movement have continued since November to demand his resignation over his failed economic policies, which have led to a dramatic rise in the cost of living and increased unemployment among the French.