According to authorities in Paris, the day before there were more than 6,600 tons of garbage accumulated in the streets of the City of Light.

Photo: Latin Press

The strike of waste collectors against the retirement reform continued in Paris, where garbage has been accumulating for a week in most of its neighborhoods, a scene that has become a government-opposition political battle.

At the center of the attacks, the ruling party places the mayoress of the French capital, the socialist Anne Hidalgo.

Meanwhile, detractors of the bill, which seeks to extend the retirement age from 62 to 64 years, argue against it as the focus of the problem, which is concerned about health, hygiene, aesthetics and impact on tourism.

The picture tends to get complicated, because the union of waste collectors of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) announced this afternoon the extension of the strike at least until next Monday, while the Government ratified its objective of materializing the reform.

"I give my full support to this social movement (...), I tell the government to talk to them and try to understand what they are saying, and then we will see," Hidalgo told the press.

From the Executive branch, the mayoress was harshly criticized, including those of the Minister of Transport Clément Beaune, who accused her of "doing nothing", and of the Delegate Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Olivia Grégoire, who denounced an alleged "contempt for the Parisians.

According to Paris authorities, the day before there were more than 6,600 tons of garbage accumulated in the streets of the City of Light, which is not the only one in France with this problem.

Waste collection and rail transport stand out among the sectors affected by the strike, one of the actions taken by the unions to force the government to withdraw its retirement reform project.

In its redirectable strike notice, the CGT warned that waste collectors can currently request retirement at age 57 without the right to a bonus, but if the reform is adopted, this option will go to age 59.

In this regard, the Minister of Action and Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, stated that the project includes considerations for "painful" jobs, although without offering many details.

Tomorrow the reform will be analyzed by a mixed commission of deputies and senators in search of a consensus text, which, if reached, will reach the National Assembly on Thursday for its final vote, an instance where the ruling party lost an absolute majority in the June legislative elections past.

However, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne asserted today in the Assembly that the Government will have the necessary majority for the adoption of the initiative, ruling out going back on its goal.

(With information from Prensa Latina)