French protestors pushing for pension reforms took their demonstrations in Paris to the building that houses BlackRock’s office Thursday.
Video footage shows demonstrators entering the ground floor of the Centorial building that houses BlackRock’s office while holding red flares and firing smoke bombs.
BlackRock is located on the third floor of the building.
Intense protests have continued throughout France since Emmanuel Macron unilaterally raised the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Watch the footage of the Paris demonstrations:
🔴EN DIRECT
Des manifestants envahissent le siège de #BlackRock à Paris #greve6avril #reformedesretraites@LucAuffret pour @LibreQg pic.twitter.com/ieutW8u8aF— QG le média libre (@LibreQg) April 6, 2023
The Paris headquarters of BlackRock has been taken over by protestors. pic.twitter.com/7jom8D5P57
— Mises Caucus (@LPMisesCaucus) April 6, 2023
🔴 Les cheminots envahissent la multinationale #BlackRock contre la réforme des retraites. #greve6avril pic.twitter.com/L4wxsR025E
— Clément Lanot (@ClementLanot) April 6, 2023
Mainstream media couldn’t hide the news that BlackRock witnessed the fierce protest at its Paris office.
From CNN:
About 100 people, including representatives of several labor unions, were on the ground floor of the building for about 10 minutes, chanting anti-reform slogans. BlackRock’s office is located on the third floor.
“The meaning of this action is quite simple. We went to the headquarters of BlackRock to tell them: the money of workers, for our pensions, they are taking it,” Jerome Schmitt, spokesman for French union SUD, told CNN affiliate BFM-TV. BlackRock declined to comment.
Nationwide protests against the French government’s plan to raise the retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64 have now entered their 11th day. The government triggered special constitutional powers last month to push the controversial legislation through parliament without a vote.
The changes mean that, from 2027, people will have to work longer to receive full state pension benefits.
Reuters also covered the protest:
Dozens of trade unionists railing against French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension overhaul briefly invaded the central Paris building in which U.S.-based investment firm BlackRock has an office, chanting slogans and setting off firecrackers.
The union action in the historical Centorial building near Paris’ Grand Boulevards area, targetted BlackRock because of its private pension fund activity, protester Françoise Onic, 51, told Reuters.
“The government wants to throw away pensions, it wants to force people to fund their own retirement with private pension funds, but what we know is that only the rich will be able to benefit from such a setup,” Onic, a school teacher, added.
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