'Denial of democracy': Protesters rally against Macron across France

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00:00said people are now making their way towards Place de la Nation. They've left Place de Bastille,

00:06which is just a few kilometers from here. So we've had pretty much a festive atmosphere,

00:11actually, in the last few moments. We had a band going past, complete with saxophone and drums.

00:18We've also had music blasting. And people here are a real mix of society. We've had adults,

00:27we've had young people, we've had families. So they've been really enjoying the festive mood.

00:33But for them, it's not about having fun. They feel they're here for a very serious cause.

00:38As you say, to denounce what they say is Macron's attempt to stage a coup in France by rejecting

00:46the New Popular Front's proposal of putting Lucie Castaix in the position of Prime Minister.

00:53So they feel that they need to make their voice heard against what they see is this

00:57sort of denial of democracy, as they put it. And we've seen that sentiment on the placards

01:04that they've been holding. We've seen a variety of placards, one that said Macron has lost it,

01:09another one that has said Macron should resign, calling him a traitor, and another one that has

01:15said, where is my vote? So that's just to give you a taste of the sense of disillusionment and also

01:22rejection that voters who passed their ballot for the New Popular Front are feeling at the moment.

01:29So those are the placards, Yinka. What have people been telling you where you are?

01:36So speaking to some of the protesters, what's been really interesting is that their anger isn't

01:40focused as much on Michel Barnier, who's just been announced as the Prime Minister. For them,

01:47what they're worried about are the issues. I spoke to one protester who said that he cares

01:51about the situation with retirement. Of course, following Macron's pension reform a few years ago,

01:59the retirement age was moved to 64. And he said that when he cast his vote, that was what was

02:04at the top of his mind. He cast the vote for the New Popular Front because he wanted their pledge

02:09to be enacted, their pledge to bring that retirement age back to 62. So he feels that his

02:15vote has been stolen because now that might not even be put on the table. Of course, Michel Barnier

02:21shows no real sign of budging on the pension reform age. It could very well stay at 62.

02:28So others have been voicing their anger about things like that, about the retirement reform,

02:33and also about the war in Gaza. We've seen many, many flags, Palestinian flags being waved here.

02:40And another core pledge from the New Popular Front when they won those elections or got the

02:44most votes in those elections in July, was that they would call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

02:49So people here are worried about issues like that, and they're continuing to make their way

02:54to Palestine, I assume.

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