More than 7,000 tons of garbage flood Paris: "There was garbage even near the Eiffel Tower"

A few meters from the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, the streets become narrower and locals and tourists often walk through them.

The charismatic

, as it is known, is full of bookstores, shops, restaurants and cafes.

But for a few days, its sidewalks have accumulated bags full of garbage, placed one on top of the other and, on occasions, exceeding two meters.

The scene is repeated in other areas of the capital, where there are already more than 7,000 tons of uncollected waste, according to the City Council.

Public service workers are on strike for ten days in protest against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform.

The project, which seeks to delay the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, will receive the final vote in the National Assembly on Thursday.

“It's crazy.

There shouldn't be this in Paris.

Today I didn't have any clients”, complains the waiter of a French restaurant.

As he prepares the tables in the hope of attracting some tourists, he says that he has decided to keep the garbage in the basement until the situation is resolved.

Waste bags accumulate a few meters from the door.

And with them the smells and the rats.

A few days ago they were even closer, at the entrance of the adjoining building, he points out.

"You couldn't even get in anymore," says Lucette Valensi, 86.

When she realized that the bags were blocking the doorway, she called the police and the fire department.

Next to the restaurant, they managed to get the authorities to clear the entrance.

Despite the problems caused, Valensi supports the strike without hesitation.

“The majority of the population is against” the reform, she recalls.

On a nearby avenue, Fernando Portillo and Alicia Morales, a couple of Honduran tourists aged 38 and 43, respectively, say that it is the first time they have visited Paris.

Although they enjoy their stay, they admit that the debris has “killed their eyes a bit”.

"There was garbage even near the Eiffel Tower," says the man, before continuing on his way.

On one corner, a sign attached to a mound of black bags asked to place the new bags on a street up or near the Seine River quays.

The streets of Paris have accumulated garbage for ten days due to the strike of municipal waste collection workers.

There are mountains up to two meters.

This Wednesday, that scene is repeated in many areas of the capital, where there are already more than 7,000 tons of uncollected waste, according to the City Council.

In the picture, a woman walks past overflowing buckets on Tuesday.

Mohammed Badra (EFE)

The garbage collectors, like many French people, oppose Macron's pension reform, which seeks to push the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 and will be voted on Thursday in the National Assembly.

In the image, a man walks this Wednesday through a Parisian street.Thomas Padilla (AP)

Although the image of dirty Paris draws attention, the plan to push the retirement age from 62 to 64 has sparked massive strikes and demonstrations across the country since its inception.

In the image, a mountain of garbage next to a building in the French capital, this Wednesday.

Thomas Padilla

Citizens and tourists have found that garbage abounds even in the most emblematic areas.

In the image, pedestrians and cyclists dodge a mountain of garbage in the surroundings of the Eiffel Tower, this Wednesday. CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT (AFP)

“It's crazy.

There shouldn't be this in Paris," lamented a waiter at a restaurant in the center of Paris. On Monday, the eighth day of the strike, the garbage was piled up as shown in the image. BENOIT TESSIER (REUTERS)

Garbage collection is carried out by public employees in half of Paris, while in the other part it is managed by private providers.

Thus, the neighborhoods controlled by the mayor's office are the ones that have been most affected.

Pedestrians walk past a pile of garbage bags on a Paris street, this Wednesday.CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT (AFP)

The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, has demanded that the Parisian City Council, led by the socialist Anne Hidalgo, do what is necessary to remove the rubbish.

Otherwise, he has warned that the State itself will do it.

Detail of the waste of a street in the center of the French capital, on Monday. BENOIT TESSIER (REUTERS)

"People now complain that there are rats, but we see them every day," says a municipal collection worker.

In the image, garbage accumulated in front of a pastry shop in Paris, this Wednesday.

Thomas Padilla

A 47-year-old worker, who has been collecting garbage for two years, regrets that it is not taken into account that it is "very physical and tiring work": "We are always outside, even if it rains, snows or is very hot," he adds. The image, garbage cans overflowing with waste in Paris, on Tuesday. Mohammed Badra (EFE)

Three incineration plants located at the gates of Paris are also stopped and the strikers of the CGT union have voted to continue with the strike "at least until March 20".

In the image, trucks stopped at the Irvry incineration plant, on Tuesday. CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT (AFP)

Debris accumulated on the pavement of the streets of the French capital has become the norm, as in this image, from Monday.

THOMAS SAMSON (AFP)

Garbage clogs a zebra crossing in central Paris, on Monday.

BENOIT TESSIER (REUTERS)

The plan to delay the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 and accelerate the contribution requirement for 43 years to collect a full pension has sparked massive strikes and demonstrations across the country.

Thousands of people demonstrated again this Wednesday, on the eighth day of protests since the movement began in January.

According to polls, two out of three French people oppose the reform, although, paradoxically, the majority think it will be approved.

There is little left.

A group of deputies and senators agreed on Wednesday on a final version of the text, which will be definitively adopted or rejected on Thursday in the National Assembly.

The Government lacks an absolute majority in the chamber since the June legislative elections, so it depends on the votes of the right-wing Republicans to approve it.

If you lack votes, you can resort to the controversial article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows you to settle the debates and adopt the law by express means.

Burning containers before a demonstration against the pension reform, on March 15 in the French city of Nantes.LOIC VENANCE (AFP)

“People now complain that there are rats;

we see them every day”

The approval of the reform does not imply the end of the contestation.

The unions have intensified their actions with extendable strikes in key sectors such as energy and garbage collection.

Three incineration plants located at the gates of Paris are also stopped and the strikers of the CGT union voted yesterday that they will continue with the strike "at least until March 20".

In Ivry, in the southeast of the city, Sebastien Szhutt, 47, was this morning.

He has been collecting garbage for two years, but he does not imagine delaying his retirement age: “It is very physical and tiring work.

We are always outside, even if it rains, snows or is very hot”.

"People now complain that there are rats, but we see them every day," continues this municipal worker.

Garbage collection is carried out by public employees in half of the city;

the other part is managed by private borrowers.

Thus, the neighborhoods controlled by the mayor's office are the ones that have been most affected.

The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, asked on Tuesday that the City Council, led by the socialist Anne Hidalgo, "requisition" the necessary means to remove the garbage.

If it does not act, the State itself will,

“After eight years [working as garbage collectors] we are broken,” says Laurent Provost, 56, who also went to the Ivry plant to support the protest.

It's not just about picking up the buckets, he explains, but all the rubbish that's on the street, which involves constantly bending over: "There are bags that weigh almost as much as me."

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