Protests will not stop pension reform or other policy changes, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday (March 30th) before unveiling a 50-measure plan to avoid a water crisis this summer and next year.
The plan touches on a wide range of measures, including how to reuse water, share it and avoid leakage.
With this plan, Macron and his government want to move on to topics other than the pension law, which has sparked fierce protests across the country for two months, reports Reuters.
However, in Savin-le-Lac in the Alps, where he was due to give a speech, he was met by groups of protesters angry about the pension law.
One poster read "Macron to resign!" and "Take your pension, not ours". Local media reports that two protesters were arrested.
Water is also a contentious issue in France.
Two men are in comas after violent clashes on Saturday between protesters and police during a demonstration against the construction of a huge water reservoir to irrigate farms in western France.
France's worst drought last summer intensified the debate over water resources in the European Union's largest agricultural producer.
Farmers say they need large reservoirs to water their crops this summer, while environmental groups say the wastewater is a way for farmers to confiscate the common good.
"Protests are normal," Macron told reporters, "but that doesn't mean we should stop."
"Nothing justifies violence in a democratic society," he said.
Millions of French people have been protesting and striking since mid-January in protest against the reform.
The protests intensified after the government used special powers to "push through" the reform without a vote in parliament.
Macron, who has promised to reform the pension system in both presidential campaigns, claims the change is needed to balance the national budget. Trade unions and the opposition claim that there are other ways to do this.
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