The police intervened to push back the demonstrators present, while Emmanuel Macron chose the town of Savines-le-Lac in the Hautes-Alpes to present his water plan.
Emmanuel Macron was, Thursday, March 30, in the Hautes-Alpes to present his water plan intended to improve the management of water, a resource threatened by global warming. On the banks of the Serre-Ponçon lake in Savines-le-Lac. Demonstrators, who are protesting in particular against the pension reform, had reserved an inter-union reception committee for the President of the Republic.
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A welcoming committee which positioned itself from 9 a.m. at the foot of the Savines-le-Lac bridge. A hundred people, who first came to talk about pensions, like Chantal Basset, CGT secretary at the Gap hospital center: “Today, we are here to show Macron that retirement at 64 is a no! And also, if he wants to see us, but that would surprise me a lot. We are also here to tell him that our public service, it is hurting us. Now, we have retirement hanging in our face at 64, we are tired.
Tear gas to keep the crowd away
The atmosphere quickly became tense with the arrival of security forces who used tear gas canisters to keep the crowd away. “The mega basins, it was last Saturday, it was violent and there, we are still shown incredible violence, s’insurge Fanny, vegetable grower in the Hautes-Alpes. I am from the Confédération paysanne and I am shocked, I see colleagues who have taken tear gas. How many are we? We are 100! It’s pretty crazy.” Sophie, a special education teacher, didn’t think it was going to get out of hand like this:
“Emmanuel Macron finds himself in Savines-le-Lac, 1,200 inhabitants, and then we are sent CRS who throw us on the ground. Isn’t that a shame anyway?”
Sophie, special education teacherat franceinfo
The protest group is kept at a safe distance from the large conference room where President Emmanuel Macron speaks. There is no meeting planned with the intersyndicale. Nadine, retired and native of the Hautes-Alpes, does not expect much: “Everything about his options for the climate crisis is blank. He has a double discourse. On the one hand, he claims to be the spearhead in France of the energy transition and the fight against the climate crisis. On the other hand, he supports the fossil fuel industry. So it’s not possible.” The prefecture announces two arrests among the demonstrators.
