France experiences a day of protests with closed roads and burnt buses

Protests in France against austerity measures gathered students and unions, causing blockades, detentions, and disruptions in transportation in several cities. According to data released by the Paris police, 132 people were detained in the metropolitan region of the capital. The Interior Minister, who is stepping down from his position and is also the president of the Les Républicains (LR) party, once again accused ‘the far-left wing’ of ‘hijacking’ this mobilization. Issues under debate include pension reform, budget, and the choice of prime minister. ‘Nothing is working,’ laments Chloé, a 25-year-old master’s student who preferred not to reveal her last name, facing a blockade at the entrance of the Paul-Sabatier campus at the University of Toulouse in southwestern France.