PARIS — As thousands of people took to the streets of Paris on the 12th day of demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms, protesters forced their way into the headquarters of luxury giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Demonstrators pushed their way into the building at 22 Avenue Montaigne in the city’s tony 8th arrondissement. Protesters did not enter any of the stores on the nearby Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
Videos posted on social media showed dozens of protesters, many wearing CGT union vests, bashing down the glass doors of the building while holding red flares and waving flags. They remained in the lobby for about ten minutes before exiting the building.
Protesters are asking for the legislation to be withdrawn. Macron used a constitutional loophole to push through the legislation last month. The country’s constitutional council will issue its ruling on the reform Friday.
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The pension reform bill would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 years old. The increase in retirement age is meant to reflect a difference in life expectancy for various generations. When most of France’s current retirees entered the workforce in the 1980s, the average life expectancy was 74. Now the average life expectancy in France is 82.
The protests comes just a day after the Louis Vuitton, Dior and Givenchy parent company reported revenues rose 17 percent to 21.04 billion euros for the first quarter of 2023 despite “a geopolitical and economic environment which remains uncertain.”
Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault is considered the richest man in the world, passing Tesla and Twitter owner Elon Musk, with an estimated net worth of $211 billion. He has added $53 billion to his net worth over the last year, with soaring sales at his luxury brands.
The French group employs more than 150,000 people.
A spokesperson for LVMH declined to comment. The CGT Union did not respond to requests for comment.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
