Paris (CNN) The City of Lights has a garbage problem.
Massive strikes in Paris against pension reform this week are affecting rubbish collection services in the French capital, with piles of rubbish littering many of the city’s normally picturesque streets, including those just steps from monuments such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.
As of Saturday, some 4,400 tons of rubbish were waiting to be collected, a spokeswoman for the Paris mayor’s office said. The spokeswoman said the problem is a blockage in the garbage incinerators caused by the strikes. Therefore, garbage trucks have been unable to pick up waste in much of the city because they have nowhere to put it.
Not all neighborhoods have been equally affected. The municipal government is in charge of garbage collection in half of the 20 districts of Paris. Private contractors are responsible for the other 10.
Garbage bins overflow on the streets of Paris on Saturday.
Municipal services such as garbage collection in Paris have been affected since Tuesday, when strikes saw flights and trains canceled and delayed; blocked oil refineries; schools closed; and left thousands without electricity. The French capital was hardest hit, with nearly 60% of its primary school teachers missing and the local metro forced to cut service at all but the busiest times.
Mass protests have been organized regularly across France. from january 19with more than a million people expressing their opposition to the government’s plan to raise the official retirement age for most workers as part of reforms to the government’s pension system, one of the most generous in Europe.
As of Saturday, some 4,400 metric tons of trash was waiting to be collected on the streets of Paris, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office said.
The government of President Emmanuel Macron says the changes are necessary to make the system financially stable.
The accumulation of garbage in Paris has sparked health concerns among Parisians and local politicians. 17th Arrondissement Mayor Geoffroy Boulard said in an interview with CNN affiliate BFMTV that he asked Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to hire a private service provider to intervene.
“We can’t wait,” he said. “This is a public health issue.”
Boulard said he is also concerned about the proliferation of rats and rodents, as well as the image of Paris.
Another local mayor, Jean-Pierre Lecoq of the 6th arrondissement, asked Hidalgo to intervene in an open letter he posted on Twitter.