‘Abandoned by all’: Why small-town France is up in arms over Macron’s pension reform

Protesters march against pension reform in Montargis, a sleepy town 120km south of Paris, on March 28, 2023. © Benjamin Dodman, FRANCE 24

France’s small and mid-size towns have been at the forefront of the battle against President Emmanuel Macron’s contentious pension reform, in some places staging the biggest rallies in living memory. In the former Yellow Vest bastion of Montargis, where protesters rallied for a tenth time on Tuesday, the deeply unpopular reform has exacerbated resentment of the government.

For his tenth protest in under three months, 69-year-old Patrick opted for a striped prisoner’s costume complete with ball and chain – and a cap reading, “Emmanuel Macron, je t’emmerde (screw you)”.