Dozens of demonstrators opposed to the French government's plans to raise the retirement age stormed the Paris headquarters of luxury goods company LVMH on Thursday, demanding that the rich contribute more to funding state pensions.
Source. This was reported by Reuters.
More than 100 protesters were seen in the lobby of the building on Avenue Montaigne, the most expensive street in Paris. A large number of people also gathered at the entrance, many of them waving flags of the Sud Rail railroaders' union.
"If you need money to finance pensions, take it from the pockets of billionaires," said Fabien Villédieu, a union representative, emphasizing that the protest was "symbolic and peaceful."
Since mid-January, French trade unions have been holding strikes and marches to protest President Emmanuel Macron's plans to implement pension reform.
On Friday, the Constitutional Council is due to decide on the legality of the bill, which would raise the retirement age by two years to 64, and a new wave of demonstrations took place across France on the eve of that day.
The government argues that the retirement age for most categories of workers needs to be raised to balance the pension budget in the coming years.
The LVMH group of companies is owned by billionaire Bernard Arnault, who is currently ranked first in the world's richest people.
Following the end of the pandemic and the recovery in demand, LVMH shares have risen by almost 26% since the beginning of the year. Thus, LVMH has strengthened its position as the company with the largest capitalization in Europe.
Background. As reported, LVMH shares soared to a record after Chinese buyers came out of quarantine.