Mass protests in France call for government to drop pension changes

Emmanuel Macron felt the full force of French anger on Thursday as protesters gathered across the country to demonstrate their opposition to the pension age being raised from 62 to 64.

Hundreds of thousands of people took part in mostly peaceful marches in Paris and other French cities to demand the government drop the fiercely contested change.

They also pulled up cast-iron grilles around trees and broke up paving stones, which they then threw at police.

Elsewhere, a woman reportedly had part of her hand blown off by a teargas grenade in the city of Rouen, where between 14,800 and 23,000 protesters gathered, according to figures from police and unions. There were large protests in Marseille, Lyon, Besançon, Rennes and Arles, as well as other French towns and cities.

On Thursday, police had been notified of more than 200 protests across France and were gearing up for a massive turnout. Along the route in Paris, banks and businesses were boarded up early in the morning and vanloads of police and gendarmes were stationed along roads.

Among the most angry were women protesters who said the new legislation was a double punishment for those who had taken time out of their careers to raise children and who were more likely to have low-paid and menial jobs.

Schools were closed and colleges were blocked around France, including in Paris, Rouen, Marseille and Toulouse. Protesters blocked the entry to a petrol depot in the Bouches-du-Rhône.

Valérie Rabault, the president of the Socialist party group in the national assembly, called on Macron to order a final debate in parliament before the pensions law is enacted.