Mountains of Waste in Paris as Strike Continues
2023-03-22
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1A strike by French garbage collectors has led to mountains of trash sitting on the streets of Paris.
2The strike entered its 16th day on Tuesday.
3The strikers are protesting a recent decision by President Emmanuel Macron to raise the retirement age for garbage collectors from 57 to 59.
4Macron's administration pushed the legislation through Parliament last week without a vote.
5On Monday, the government won votes in Parliament on two proposals to withdraw support from Macron administration.
6Vincent Salazar is a 62-year-old artistic advisor who lives in Paris' Left Bank neighborhood.
7He spoke to The Associated Press about garbage blocking the streets. It smells bad.
8"I prefer Chanel to the stink," Salazar said.
9Chanel is a very famous French perfume maker.
10A mass of garbage sits at the corner of his building overlooking the Luxembourg Gardens.
11Salazar said he had seen rats climbing the mass.
12But he said he supports the striking garbage workers.
13"I'm fortunate to live here, but I'm 200 percent behind these guys," Salazar said.
14"They're smelling it all day long," he added.
15"They should get early retirement."
16Public opinion studies have shown that Salazar's position on the issue is shared by the majority of French people.
17They have said they oppose Macron's decision to raise the retirement age by two years.
18Many citizens and unions organizing the protests have called for the strikes to continue to force Macron's administration to reconsider its reforms.
19The mayor of Paris supports the strikers.
20She faces a conflict as City Hall officials have refused orders to get the garbage trucks on the streets.
21Officials argued that the duty was not theirs.
22Police Chief Laurent Nunez then ordered 674 garbage collectors and 206 garbage trucks back to work to provide basic service, police tweeted Tuesday.
23City officials said as of Monday, 9,300 tons of garbage remained on the streets.
24Workers in many industries, from transportation to energy, have been holding strikes on and off since January.
25And there is more ahead. Unions are planning nationwide marches and strikes for Thursday to pressure the government to withdraw the retirement measure.
26Tony Gibierge is a 36-year-old who plans to open a restaurant in several months in southern Paris.
27The street where the restaurant will be is currently filled with waste.
28"Garbage is a good way to protest. It has a big impact," he said.
29Gibierge was among those who have peacefully demonstrated through Paris, and other cities, with song and dance in recent weeks.
30"Now we have to send out the fire, stop dancing," he said.
31The message: "Nothing is over, and much of the garbage isn't going anywhere quite yet."
32I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A strike by French garbage collectors has led to mountains of trash sitting on the streets of Paris. 2The strike entered its 16th day on Tuesday. The strikers are protesting a recent decision by President Emmanuel Macron to raise the retirement age for garbage collectors from 57 to 59. 3Macron's administration pushed the legislation through Parliament last week without a vote. On Monday, the government won votes in Parliament on two proposals to withdraw support from Macron administration. 4Vincent Salazar is a 62-year-old artistic advisor who lives in Paris' Left Bank neighborhood. He spoke to The Associated Press about garbage blocking the streets. It smells bad. "I prefer Chanel to the stink," Salazar said. Chanel is a very famous French perfume maker. 5A mass of garbage sits at the corner of his building overlooking the Luxembourg Gardens. Salazar said he had seen rats climbing the mass. 6But he said he supports the striking garbage workers. "I'm fortunate to live here, but I'm 200 percent behind these guys," Salazar said. "They're smelling it all day long," he added. "They should get early retirement." 7Public opinion studies have shown that Salazar's position on the issue is shared by the majority of French people. They have said they oppose Macron's decision to raise the retirement age by two years. 8Many citizens and unions organizing the protests have called for the strikes to continue to force Macron's administration to reconsider its reforms. 9The mayor of Paris supports the strikers. She faces a conflict as City Hall officials have refused orders to get the garbage trucks on the streets. Officials argued that the duty was not theirs. Police Chief Laurent Nunez then ordered 674 garbage collectors and 206 garbage trucks back to work to provide basic service, police tweeted Tuesday. 10City officials said as of Monday, 9,300 tons of garbage remained on the streets. 11Workers in many industries, from transportation to energy, have been holding strikes on and off since January. And there is more ahead. Unions are planning nationwide marches and strikes for Thursday to pressure the government to withdraw the retirement measure. 12Tony Gibierge is a 36-year-old who plans to open a restaurant in several months in southern Paris. The street where the restaurant will be is currently filled with waste. "Garbage is a good way to protest. It has a big impact," he said. 13Gibierge was among those who have peacefully demonstrated through Paris, and other cities, with song and dance in recent weeks. "Now we have to send out the fire, stop dancing," he said. The message: "Nothing is over, and much of the garbage isn't going anywhere quite yet." 14I'm Bryan Lynn. 15The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 16______________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18garbage - n. waste 19prefer - v. to choose or like better than another 20stink - n. a strong offensive smell 21perfume - n. a substance that smells good 22fortunate - adj. lucky 23impact - n. an effect a person, event or situation has on something or something 24___________________________________________________________________ 25What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.