Monitoring Desk
PARIS: France’s ministry for interior said on Thursday that over one million people have joined a day of strikes and protests against plans to increase the retirement age in the country.
More than 80,000 protest demonstrators took to the streets in the capital of France, with protest demonstrations in 200 more cities in France.
French President Emmanuel Macron termed the reforms “just and responsible” but his government is facing a strong reaction. The protests severely disrupted public transport in the country and many educational institutions were closed.
Interior Ministry and Protest in France
Protest demonstrations took place across the country, Lyon, in Nantes, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Toulouse, as public sector workers, refinery staff and train drivers walked out.
The chief of the big CGT union, Philippe Martinez, put the number of protest demonstrators at beyond 2 million, higher than the government’s figure. They claimed that 400,000 protestors had joined the march, from Place in Paris.
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Police were deployed in Paris in case of violence but there were few clashes reported and only 38 protestors were arrested. The key secondary education union said 65 percent of teachers were on protest, although the ministry for education said it was 35 percent.
