In France, protests against the government have also affected the fashion world.. Considered a symbol of luxury and an enclave of power, the fashion system falls into the category of sectors that could be taxed more heavily to make up for the missing 12 billion in public treasury that Emmanuel Macron is seeking to raise through pension reform. From here assault on the headquarters of the LVMH group, a gesture that the demonstrators described as non-violent, but which actually resulted in hundreds of people storming the luxury giant’s headquarters on the avenue Montaigne. Some entered the building and took the escalator to the upper floors, while others poured into the street waving Sud Rail flags.
What’s going on in France
This is just the latest chapter in a series of protests that have been fueling Paris and the country’s main cities for weeks against reform raising the retirement age by two yearsuntil stopped at 62 years old. Macron’s speeches were useless as he tried to tame the crowd by pointing out that in Italy and the rest of Europe, the population is already working until the age of 67. The French reject this reform with all the force and tenacity of which they are capable, if not violently, by burning the dummy Monsieur le President on the very square where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed 231 years ago, today renamed “della Concordia”.
“If you’re looking for money to finance pensions, take it out of the pockets of billionaires,” said Fabien Villedier, a spokesman for the Sud Rail union, noting that the protest was “symbolic and peaceful.” The idea actually comes from the non-governmental organization Oxfam France, according to which, in order to reimburse the 12 billion needed to increase GDP, it would be enough to tax 43 French billionaires at 2%, starting with Bernard Arnault, founder and head of the LVMH group, which also includes the brand LV, and Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, heiress to the cosmetics empire L’Oréal, respectively, are the richest man and woman in the world, more than Elon Musk (Tesla and Twitter) and Alice Walton (WalMart). True wealth has moved to the very heart of Europe, and this is exactly what the French are now asking to be taxed, while demanding “liberte, égalité, fraternité”.
Source: Elle