MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2023) French police have detained 23 people in Paris during a second nationwide protest, involving over 200 strikes across the country, against the government's pension reform, media reported Tuesday.
By 6:15 p.m. (17:15 GMT), 23 people were detained in the demonstration against raising the retirement age called by the country's leading trade unions which started after 2:30 p.m. from Place d'Italie in France's capital, BFMTV reported, citing law enforcement authorities.
Tens of thousands of people took part in the protest, including representatives of various sectors, leftist and youth organizations, supporters of the Yellow Vest movement and radicals from the Black Block movement, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
According to the correspondent, the rally began peacefully, but then aggressive demonstrators started to provoke law enforcement officers, throwing stones and bottles at them, which led to the use of tear gas.
On January 10, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne presented a draft pension reform legislation, which the government plans to implement in September 2023. According to Borne's plan, the French government will begin to raise the retirement age in the country by three months per year from September 1, gradually increasing it from the current age of 62 to 64 by 2030.
