02:04Scuffles broke out between protesters and riot police in Paris as thousands rallied against the government’s pension reforms on Monday.
Footage features protesters gathering together, rallying, chanting, holding flares and placards and banging metal pans. Police officers could also be seen deploying tear gas, while fires burned in the streets.
Similar protests were seen in Lyon, Rennes and Nantes. It came as President Emmanuel Macron gave a primetime TV address on Monday night defending the measures.
Macron promised new measures to improve salaries and working conditions, as well as education, law and order and healthcare, after signing off on his new pension reforms, which have led to huge protests across the country since they were announced in January.
The government passed the measures, which include raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, without a vote in the National Assembly, and the Constitutional Court approved the changes on Friday.
The administration has argued that the reforms are need to keep the system solvent. Following the president’s speech, workers’ unions vowed to continue the fight against the changes. The leader of the CGT union, Sophie Binet, announced that additional protests are scheduled for April 20 and 28, while railway unions demanded a day of "anger" on April 20.
France: Clashes in Paris as thousands march against pension reform
Scuffles broke out between protesters and riot police in Paris as thousands rallied against the government’s pension reforms on Monday.
Footage features protesters gathering together, rallying, chanting, holding flares and placards and banging metal pans. Police officers could also be seen deploying tear gas, while fires burned in the streets.
Similar protests were seen in Lyon, Rennes and Nantes. It came as President Emmanuel Macron gave a primetime TV address on Monday night defending the measures.
Macron promised new measures to improve salaries and working conditions, as well as education, law and order and healthcare, after signing off on his new pension reforms, which have led to huge protests across the country since they were announced in January.
The government passed the measures, which include raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, without a vote in the National Assembly, and the Constitutional Court approved the changes on Friday.
The administration has argued that the reforms are need to keep the system solvent. Following the president’s speech, workers’ unions vowed to continue the fight against the changes. The leader of the CGT union, Sophie Binet, announced that additional protests are scheduled for April 20 and 28, while railway unions demanded a day of "anger" on April 20.
Scuffles broke out between protesters and riot police in Paris as thousands rallied against the government’s pension reforms on Monday.
Footage features protesters gathering together, rallying, chanting, holding flares and placards and banging metal pans. Police officers could also be seen deploying tear gas, while fires burned in the streets.
Similar protests were seen in Lyon, Rennes and Nantes. It came as President Emmanuel Macron gave a primetime TV address on Monday night defending the measures.
Macron promised new measures to improve salaries and working conditions, as well as education, law and order and healthcare, after signing off on his new pension reforms, which have led to huge protests across the country since they were announced in January.
The government passed the measures, which include raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, without a vote in the National Assembly, and the Constitutional Court approved the changes on Friday.
The administration has argued that the reforms are need to keep the system solvent. Following the president’s speech, workers’ unions vowed to continue the fight against the changes. The leader of the CGT union, Sophie Binet, announced that additional protests are scheduled for April 20 and 28, while railway unions demanded a day of "anger" on April 20.