Dozens of lawyers blockaded the entrance to the high court in Paris, where the trial of former French Prime Minister Francois Fillion was scheduled to begin, on Monday.
Footage shows lawyers lighting flares at the gates of the high court as they chanted in unison. The police rushed to the scene and set up a barricade between the court and the protesting lawyers.
The lawyers protested during Fillon’s high-profile hearing to draw attention to their movement.
“This pension reform which will affect everybody, independent workers, normal salary people or people from the public sector,” said one lawyer, commenting on the reasons behind the protests.
The government’s pension reform bill, which ignited one of the largest wave of protests in French history, began being debated in the National Assembly on the 17th of February and discussions are set to last another week.
Advertisement