Protesting pension reform, French ballet dancers danced "Swan Lake" in the street. What was the scene like?

On Tuesday, December 24, local time in France, 27 ballet dancers from the Paris Opera House wore tutus and danced classic works on the steps in front of the Opéra Garnier. "Swan Lake" to express dissatisfaction with recent French pension reform issues.

Due to the special profession of ballet dancers, they have suffered from injuries since childhood and suffered severe joint wear and tear. It is difficult to perform on stage when they are older, so the current legal retirement age is 42 years old. This special retirement system has also been implemented from 1689 to the present. This pension reform will increase the special number of years they are allowed to receive pensions to a higher level. Ballet dancers are also one of the groups most affected by Macron's pension reform policies.

Hundreds of spectators watch as ballet dancers perform on the steps. Behind the dancers, two slogans read: "Opera de Paris Greve" and "La culture en danger".

Unions have been protesting since December 5 against the government's plans to change the country's retirement system.

Paris Opera dancer Alexandre Carniato said: As a dancer, there is high-intensity stage performance work every day. And this daily, repetitive, high-intensity stage performance work requires an earlier retirement date. Therefore, you cannot ask a dancer to dance until 64 years old, that is impossible.

Another dancer said that the retirement age of 42 is already very unreasonable. Many 40-year-old dancers already have titanium hips.

The impact of this pension reform is huge. The Paris Opera House has been almost completely shut down and all performances have been cancelled, as many ballet dancers have gone on strike dissatisfied with France's pension reform. So far, 11 scheduled performances have been cancelled.