Union-led protests against President Emmanuel Macron's decision to increase the retirement age led to clashes between French police and demonstrators in Paris and

other cities. During the protests, some demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails and fireworks at police in Paris, torched building materials, and smashed up bus stops. Despite the violence, the majority of protesters marched peacefully and booed the police as they responded with tear gas and baton charges. Emergency services had to use water cannons to put out a fire that blackened the windows of nearby flats. One officer was seriously injured after being hit by a fiery projectile.

The protests also turned violent in Lyon and Nantes, where some vehicles were set on fire, and business premises were vandalized. Almost 200 people were arrested on the day, which saw 782,000 people take to the streets, according to the interior ministry.

Macron raised the retirement age by two years to 64 last month, despite multi-sector strikes, which led to his popularity dropping to near-record lows seen during the "Yellow Vest" crisis of 2018-2019. The reform has intensified dissatisfaction with a president perceived by many as aloof and indifferent to their daily hardships, resulting in heckling and pot banging during his walkabouts aimed at rebuilding support.

Trade unions had called for a large turnout to force a U-turn by Macron's government, which forced its pension law through without a final vote in the National Assembly, where it lacks a working majority. Opinion polls show that a substantial majority of French people are against the higher retirement age.

Sophie Binet, leader of the hard-left CGT union, said that "the executive cannot govern without the support of its people." The CGT had not yet decided whether to participate in talks with the government on other labor-related issues such as salaries, working conditions, and hardship benefits. The moderate CFDT union will participate in those discussions, according to its leader Laurent Berger. However, he dismissed suggestions that a rare alliance between the leading trade unions was being tested now that the pension bill had been signed into law.

The pension system is a cornerstone of France's cherished social protection model. Macron argues that the French reform is necessary to help shore up one of the industrialized world's most generous pension systems. However, retired metalworker Michel Maingy believes that although he feels the battle over pensions has been lost, there are still fights to be won in negotiations over working conditions. Photo by Αγγελος Εξάγγελος, Wikimedia commons.