There are few places these days where the economic woes facing rich nations—labor shortages, the Great Resignation, an aging workforce—are on display more starkly than on the streets of Paris. There and across France, more than a million people protested on Tuesday, with some waging pitched battles against riot police as they rallied against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
The tear gas had barely dissipated in Paris when activists and labor unions announced more national strikes and mass demos, set for Feb. 7 and Feb. 11, as both left-wing and far-right lawmakers vowed to block Macron’s plan.
