While different sectors such as education and transportation went on strike against the pension reform, which includes raising the retirement age to 64 in the country, mass demonstrations were held for the 14th time in cities such as Paris, Marseille, Lille and Rennes.
Demonstrators gathered in Invalides Square in Paris marched to Italy Square.
During the demonstration in the capital, there were tense moments between some demonstrators and the police.
Protesters set traffic lights, pallets, garbage cans on fire, smashed bus stop windows and threw foreign objects at police.
The police responded with tear gas to the demonstrators.
The General Workers’ Union (CGT) announced that a total of 900 thousand people participated in the demonstrations held at more than 250 points across the country.
According to the data of the French press based on official sources, the participation in the demonstrations in the country was 281,000 and 28 people were detained in the demonstration in Paris.
One policeman was injured in the demonstration in the capital.
Opponents of the reform had organized a demonstration this morning by entering the central building of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in Paris.
In response to the pension reform, the energy arm of CGT cut off electricity to various companies, as well as media outlets such as Canal +, Eurosport, RFI radio, in the morning. Many cities in the province of Hauts-de-Seine were affected by the power outage.
pension reform
Mass demonstrations broke out in France on March 16, after the government’s decision to pass the bill, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, without voting.
The police responded harshly to the protesters, and violent incidents took place in many parts of the country.
More than 1,000 people were detained in protests across the country since 16 March.
The Constitutional Council, to which the opposition and the government applied to determine whether the reform was in conformity with the constitution, approved the article of the draft law that increased the retirement age to 64, and rejected the 6 articles in whole or in part.
A bill to withdraw the law, which was passed despite mass protest and intense opposition, will be discussed in the National Assembly on 8 June.