Garbage: In Paris streets, heaps of it become protest symbol

Garbage. Heaps, mounds and piles of it are growing daily — and in some places standing higher than a human being. A strike by Paris garbage collectors is taking a toll on the renowned aesthetics of the French capital, a real blight on the City of Light. “I prefer Chanel to the stink,” joked Vincent Salazar, a 62-year-old artistic consultant who lives in a tony Left Bank neighborhood. A pile of garbage sits at the corner of his building overlooking the Luxembourg Gardens. But like many nonchalant and strike-hardened Parisians, Salazar doesn’t mind. “I’m fortunate to live here, but I’m 200% behind these guys,” Salazar said. “They're smelling it all day long,” he said, though “it” wasn't the word he used. “They should get early retirement.” He is among the majority of French who, polls show, oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to raise the retirement age by two years, from 62 to 64 for most and from 57 to 59 for garbage collectors. Macron rammed the showcase legislation of his second term through Parliament — without a vote, thanks to a special constitutional article. The government won two no-confidence motions put forth by angry lawmakers. The bill is now considered adopted. But garbage got wrapped up in politics. And neither unions organizing protests nor some citizens are prepared to back down. Posters showing digitally altered images of Macron atop a garbage heap — or collecting garbage himself — have made the rounds on social networks. The Socialist mayor of Paris, who supports the strikers, found herself in a bind. City Hall refused orders to get the trucks out, saying it’s not their job. Police Chief Laurent Nuñez then ordered garages unblocked and ordered 674 sanitation personnel and 206 garbage trucks back to work to provide a minimal service, police tweeted. City Hall said that as of March 20, 9,300 tons of rubbish remained on the streets. Workers in numerous sectors, from transportation to energy, have been holding intermittent strikes since January. But it is the garbage in the French capital that has made garbage collectors, long taken for granted, visible — and their anger obvious. This article was provided by The Associated Press.