The Paris Opera reopened on Saturday night after weeks of strike action against the French government’s pension reforms that have cost the arts organization millions of dollars in ticketing losses.
Dancers and musicians have been striking alongside public-sector workers to oppose the government’s plan to scrap more than 40 separate pension schemes and replace them with a single points-based system.
HEAVY LOSSES
More than 70 shows have been canceled since last month at a loss of nearly 15 million euros (US$16.5 million) — greater than the state’s annual contribution to the Opera pension fund.
However, on Saturday night, its Bastille venue opened its doors for the Tales of Hoffman.
“To preserve the economic integrity of the Opera, we have made the decision to go ahead with the performance this evening, but we remain mobilized for the withdrawal of this bill,” a union representative said at the start of the performance, in a statement recorded by a spectator and posted on Twitter.
It is unclear whether other planned performances would now go ahead.
The special retirement plan for the Paris Opera, which allows dancers to bow out at age 42, was introduced in 1698 by King Louis XIV — making it among the oldest in France.
AGE FACTOR
The retirement age was set by taking into account the physical arduousness of the job, the high injury risk, and the assumption that most dancers cannot continue performing at their best beyond a certain age.
The French state covers half of the Paris Opera’s pension fund, about 14 million euros per year.
The cancelation of several top ballet, opera, and theater shows in Paris has disappointed tourists and locals, who need to book long in advance for the pricey seats.
Dancers have staged outdoor performances in Paris in a show of support for the public sector strikes, which have triggered weeks of transport chaos.
A plan by Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party to cap the population at 10 million has the backing of almost half the country, according to a poll before an expected vote next year. The party, which has long campaigned against immigration, argues that too-fast population growth is overwhelming housing, transport and public services. The level of support comes despite the government urging voters to reject it, warning that strict curbs would damage the economy and prosperity, as Swiss companies depend on foreign workers. The poll by newspaper group Tamedia/20 Minuten and released yesterday showed that 48 percent of the population plan to vote
PARLIAMENT CHAOS: Police forcibly removed Brazilian Deputy Glauber Braga after he called the legislation part of a ‘coup offensive’ and occupied the speaker’s chair Brazil’s lower house of Congress early yesterday approved a bill that could slash former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for plotting a coup, after efforts by a lawmaker to disrupt the proceedings sparked chaos in parliament. Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since last month after his conviction for a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including attempting a coup d’etat — opening up the prospect that Bolsonaro, 70, could have his sentence cut to
A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast region late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate. A tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and a tsunami of 40cm had been observed at Aomori’s Mutsu Ogawara and Hokkaido’s Urakawa ports before midnight, JMA said. The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of
RELAXED: After talks on Ukraine and trade, the French president met with students while his wife visited pandas, after the pair parted ways with their Chinese counterparts French President Emmanuel Macron concluded his fourth state visit to China yesterday in Chengdu, striking a more relaxed note after tough discussions on Ukraine and trade with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) a day earlier. Far from the imposing Great Hall of the People in Beijing where the two leaders held talks, Xi and China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan (彭麗媛), showed Macron and his wife Brigitte around the centuries-old Dujiangyan Dam, a World Heritage Site set against the mountainous landscape of Sichuan Province. Macron was told through an interpreter about the ancient irrigation system, which dates back to the third century
RSS