Parisian protestors swarmed BlackRock’s offices during protests over pension reforms as part of a series of protests that have rocked France over the past days.
President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to increase pension eligibility age to 64 from 62 has sparked protests around Paris. Protesters hampered traffic at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport and have caused mayhem in Paris for roughly a week and a half in a bid to get Macron to back down from the reforms. (RELATED: Anti-Macron Protesters Turn France’s Streets Upside Down Over Fuel Tax Increases)
Protesters forced their way inside of BlackRock’s offices on Thursday holding smoke flares. A horde of protesters could be seen with the flares and waving flags. The protesters left the building after about a half hour, according to MarketWatch.
🔴 Les cheminots envahissent la multinationale #BlackRock contre la réforme des retraites. #greve6avril pic.twitter.com/L4wxsR025E
— Clément Lanot (@ClementLanot) April 6, 2023
BlackRock is an American-based investment management company with $10 trillion in assets. Some opponents of French pension reform have argued that the government should target big corporations and the super rich instead. Francois Ruffin, a prominent French left-wing figure in the protests, claimed that the general debate around pension reform should cause a greater emphasis on wealth redistribution, according to a Financial Times opinion piece.
The videos of the incident quickly circulated around social media and were met with various responses.