More than one million people took to the streets in France on Thursday to demand the withdrawal of the government’s plan to reform pension payments. The widespread strike crippled public transport, closed schools and slowed the energy sector.
In Paris, the hardline CGT union said some 400,000 demonstrators marched through the streets.
Government figures released on Thursday night said there were more than one million protesters throughout the country.
In the capital, clashes broke out between police and demonstrators around the Place de la Bastille.
Missiles were hurled at police who fired tear gas in response. Violence was also reported in Lyon and Rennes.
From Calais in the north to Nice in the south demonstrators took to the streets to decry plans to increase the legal retirement age from 62 to 64, a reform that also comes amid widespread social discontent and over rising inflation and the cost of living.
Vocal opposition
Even before the start of the Paris march, thousands turned out to protest in cities across the country.
Figures reported by media show a large mobilisation: 38,000 people in Lyon, 36,000 in Toulouse, 26,000 in Marseille, 25,000 in Nantes, 19,000 in Clermont-Ferrand, 15,000 in Montpellier, 14,000 in Tours, 12,000 in Perpignan and Orleans, 6,500 in Mulhouse and Perigueux.
The numbers are equal or higher than demonstrations against the previous pension reform in December 2019, which brought out 806,000 protesters officially, and 1.5 million according to unions.
United for the first time in 12 years, the unions want to send a strong message to President Emmanuel Macron, who is determined to pass the reform of the pension system to balance the books and bring France into line with the rest of Europe.
According to union figures, some 70 percent of primary school teachers are on strike Thursday and 65 percent of middle and high-school teachers. The government puts the numbers at 42 percent and 65 percent, respectively.
Macron, who is in Spain, told a press conference in Madrid the reform was fair and responsible and that the government had to implement the plans.
“There is a very strong mobilisation of workers rejecting this reform,” Laurent Escure, secretary general of the UNSA education union, told RFI.
Ongoing social unrest
Thursday was regarded as a test by unions who announced another day of action for 31 January to press home their demands for a change to Macron's proposals.
Long-term strikes involve a lot of commitment, said Benoit Teste, secretary general of the FSU teachers’ union.
“The question is whether to continue the movement,” he told RFI . "We need to insure the participation of the largest number of people."
The CGT Mines-Energie union, that represents energy workers, announced that it backs an unlimited strike as of Thursday. If followed, a longer-term strike would mean a drop in electricity production.
La CGT petrol union has indicated it wants to stage a 72-hour strike on 6 February.
