Paris police clash with protesters at health workers’ rally, firing tear gas
France’s healthcare workers have been marching for better pay and increased funding. As demonstrators thronged the streets of Paris, violent clashes between protesters and police broke out, with tear gas fired into the crowds.
Hailed as “heroes in white coats” by President Emmanuel Macron at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, France’s health-sector employees assembled en masse on Tuesday to demand more than just applause and platitudes. Calling for salary raises and an end to hospital-bed cuts, one powerful union taking part said that “the government’s soothing speeches, chocolate medals and promises of random and hypothetical bonuses will not suffice.”