Fireworks, burning rubbish bins and a destroyed ‘Leclerc’ store were the opening clashes this afternoon at the Paris demonstration, with several hundred protesters against the Macron government’s pension reform.
Tens of thousands of people turned out today again in protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s reform that has sparked the worst domestic crisis of his term.
Today’s protest is the tenth since the beginning of the movement in January, against the law increasing the pension age from 62 to 64 years, which has already turned into a broad anti-government movement.
Last Thursday saw the fiercest clashes between security forces and protesters as tensions turned into violent battles in the streets of Paris.
The police have been accused of excessive violence by both the protesters and the European organization, which has increased the anger of the demonstrators.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 13,000 members of the security forces were deployed across France today, 5,500 of them in Paris alone. According to him, the record number was justified by a “major risk to public order”.
In the western city of Nantes, protesters shot objects at the police, who responded with tear gas, the AFP journalist reported.
Police in Lyon in the southwest used water cannons and tear gas against protesters, as did the northern city of Lille.
At least 22 people have been arrested by late afternoon in Paris.
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