Paris Faces a Massive Garbage Strike and Its Aftermath
A long-running stoppage by waste collection workers in Paris has disrupted daily life across large portions of the city. After 23 days without work, the dispute was set to end on Wednesday, marking a pause that unions described as a responsibility to resume city services. The CGT, the General Confederation of Labor, announced the decision, stressing that the mobilization was not finished and thanking the public for its patience amid the disruption. The dispute began on March 6 as part of protests against the government’s pension reform, and at its peak, as many as half of Pariss twenty districts endured significant disruption. In these areas, where private contractors did not handle waste services, as much as 10,000 tons of garbage accumulated on city streets. The city leadership acknowledged the scale of the challenge, with the mayor, Anne Hidalgo, confirming ongoing efforts to restore routine services on the same day.
As authorities stepped in, municipal workers were legally mobilized to return to service, and police actions were coordinated with associations of municipal workers to ensure an orderly restart. The plan included reopening routes for garbage trucks and gradually bringing three incinerators in the Paris region back into operation. These measures, combined with strong police presence and logistical adjustments, reduced the immediate chaos and signaled a steady return to normal collection schedules.
The street clean-up became a focal point of the protests, with trash accumulating as demonstrators, including students, used the mess as a visible sign of opposition to pension reform. The actions highlighted how a political decision, especially one carried forward by decree in a legislative body with limited quorum, can ripple through everyday life in a major European capital. City services and residents alike endured the tension as authorities worked to de-escalate the situation and restore basic city operations.