They say Spring is a magical time to visit Paris but perhaps not this year. It’s not so much love that is in the air of the French capital but the stench from 7,000 tons of uncollected rubbish.

The city’s refuse collectors have been on strike as part of the nationwide protests against the government’s pension reform. Workers at the three incinerators that dispose of Paris’s garbage have also downed tools and the walkout will last until at least Monday 20 March.

It’s not a strike that affects all the capital. In some of the arrondissements, private firms empty the bins and it is business as usual for them. But in other districts – including the swanky 6th and 16th arrondissements – the rubbish collection is the responsibility of city hall employees who have not been seen for ten days.

The Great Stink is going to get worse

The refuse collectors are supported by the city’s mayor, the Socialist Anne Hidalgo, who has expressed her ‘solidarity with the protest movement’. Opposition to the government’s bill that will increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 began in January, and the unions say they are prepared for a long and bitter fight. But might the resolve of the people be weakening? Last Saturday was the seventh day of organised nationwide demonstrations against the reform bill, and the turnout was significantly down on previous protests. Only 380,000 demonstrators were on the streets, compared to the 1.28 million who marched the previous week.

There is another day of action today, with strikes and rallies planned across France, but another low turnout would suggest that president Emmanuel Macron is on course to score a famous victory against the unions. The pension reforms bill was approved by the Senate at the weekend, by 195 votes to 112, and a committee is currently agreeing on a final draft, which could be submitted to the Senate and National Assembly for a final vote by the end of this week.

Rubbish on the streets of Paris (Credit: Getty Images)

As well as increasing the retirement age by two years, the bill makes other changes to the country’s complicated system of pensions and this is what has brought refuse collectors out on strike. Currently, they can draw a basic minimum pension from the age of 57, but the reform bill would push that back two years.

Winter is on its way out of Paris and temperatures are forecast to climb to 17 degrees by the end of the week. The Great Stink is going to get worse, and there is growing concern about potential health risks, particularly given that Paris is notorious for its vast population of rats. In 2018, the city council launched a rat ‘hotline’ in order to tackle the menace of an estimated 3.8 million rodents. Although their presence has decreased in recent years there are fears the thousands of black bags littering the pavements will lead to a surge in numbers.

Hidalgo’s political opponents are weaponising her support for the strikes. Rachida Dati, who is mayor of the 7th arrondissement and the leader of the centre-right Républicains in Paris, had demanded the ‘implementation of a minimum service for garbage collection…to avoid any health and safety risks’.

Dati will run for the mayor’s office in 2026, as probably will Clément Beaune, currently the minister of transport. He expressed his outrage at the situation in a tweet:

‘Stench and rot. No emergency measures, even partial by the City of Paris. Yet another example of inaction and contempt for Parisians.’

The mayor’s office excused him of ‘disgusting, demagogic one-upmanship’. On Tuesday evening the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin instructed the Paris police prefect to ask city hall to ‘requisition’ resources to clear the streets of the 7,000 tons of rubbish. If Hidalgo doesn’t comply with the request, reported Le Figaro on Wednesday morning, then the government ‘will take over’.

The government will certainly be desperate to have the refuse workers back to work by 26 March, the day King Charles III arrives in the capital on his first state visit as monarch. The occasion is of great importance for Emmanuel Macron and the last thing the president wants is for royalty to meet rubbish on the streets of Paris.