Twelve days since France’s government forced its deeply unpopular pension reform through the National Assembly, the mobilization against it seems stronger than ever. The use of Article 49.3 — passing a law without a parliamentary vote — has made the fight over the pension bill a broader fight over the powers of Emmanuel Macron’s government, which lost its majority in last June’s parliamentary election.

The large majority of French people oppose raising the pension age from sixty-two to sixty-four — and the number who back continued protests is actually rising. On Monday, ahead of a fresh day of action called by unions for March 28, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced the “deployment of unprecedented security measures” to impose order. His comments followed dramatic scenes of police breaking up peaceful rallies.

One parliamentarian who saw this police offensive firsthand is Manon Aubry. She is a France Insoumise representative in the European Parliament, where she is cochair of the Left group. She spoke to Jacobin’s David Broder about the continuation of the movement, the government’s response, and a way out of France’s crisis situation.