Striking Paris garbage collectors ordered to clear 7,000 tonnes of rubbish

Striking refuse collectors are set to be forced to remove thousands of tonnes of rotting rubbish on Parisian streets after a top policeman took charge of the clean-up.

Rubbish has been piling up in the streets of Paris since 7 March when refuse collectors started their strike against the government's plans for pension reforms. Charles Platiau/Reuters

Laurent Nuñez, the capital's most powerful officer, ordered Paris town hall to send him names of refuse collectors in the city so that he could contact them and requisition their services.

His move follows the refusal on Wednesday night of Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to force refuse collectors to clear up the piles of bin bags following a week of strikes over planned reforms to the retirement age.

Hidalgo said it was up to the government to sort out the reasons for the industrial action.

Refuse workers can currently retire at the age of 57 if they have the required number of years of contributions. The reform would push the age to 59. 

Claims

Opponents of the reform say refuse collectors often have work-related health problems, shorter life expectancy than many other workers and are unable to do the physically demanding lifting in their late 50s.

"We work whether there's rain, snow or wind," Nabil Latreche, 44, told the French news agency AFP. "When we're riding behind the truck, we breathe in all sorts of fumes. We often get sick from work."

On Thursday, police fired tear gas to empty a warehouse occupied by striking garbage collectors in Vitry-sur-Seine, just outside Paris.

The depot, managed by Pizzorno Environnement, acts as a base for refuse collections in the south-western 15th district of Paris as well as 150 schools in Paris.

La France Insoumise MPs Mathilde Panot and Louis Boyard were with the demonstrators when the police arrived.

🚨 Alerte !

Expulsion imminente du piquet de grève des éboueurs Pizzorno à Vitry-sur-Seine.

Les éboueurs ramasseront les poubelles quand la réforme des retraites sera dedans.

Solidarité ✊🏻 #SoutienAuxEboueurs pic.twitter.com/BwtkjmxVWz

— Mathilde Panot (@MathildePanot) March 16, 2023

"The garbage collectors will pick up the garbage when the pension reforms are inside them," Panot tweeted.

On Thursday, the French senate approved Emmanuel Macron's pension reform bill which would raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 years old.

The bill was forced through the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, on Thursday with the use of the 49.

"We can not gamble with the future of our retirement," said Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.