Sweeping Demos in France Ahead of Constitutional Council Decision on Pension Reform Bill

Hundreds of Thousands have taken to streets in France, on Thursday, a day ahead of the much-awaited verdict by the Constitutional Council on the lawfulness of the Pension Reform Bill, according to “France24”.
The Constitutional Council has three options, to approve the bill, censure it, or organize a referendum as a response to some parties’ demand under the name “RIP”.
Authorities anticipate between 400,000 and 600,000 protestors across the country, far less than the almost 1.3 million protesters registered at the peak of the rallies in March, said “France24”.
Some traffic interruptions are predicted as part of the industrial action. The CGT union has called for a nationwide strike at all refineries.
As for police brutality, the French judiciary received 100 complaints from lawyers alleging that the French police had arbitrarily detained protestors; 75% of these cases were dismissed for lack of proof. The arbitrary arrests, which reached 950 in just 13 days, are condemned by lawyers.
The use of Article 49.3 – called the “nuclear option” – to force pension reform through parliament without a vote on March 16 sparked major outrage. The administration narrowly survived two no-confidence votes a few days later.