PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2023) Police in Paris used tear gas to disperse the protesters who organized a spontaneous demonstration in the French capital on Friday night, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports.
Earlier on Friday, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported that hundreds of people had gathered in front of the Paris City Hall, protesting against the controversial pension reform after the French Constitutional Council approved it.
Protesters also started to fill the city streets, overturning and setting trash containers on fire and breaking storefront glass.
According to a RIA Novosti correspondent, police then started blocking streets in Paris, using tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
Local media reported that police also used tear gas against demonstrators in Lyon. About 200-300 people gathered in front of the city prefecture on Friday evening, according to Lyon Mag.
Earlier on Friday, the French Constitutional Council approved the key article of the pension reform bill, which would gradually raise the age of retirement in France from 62 to 64 years by 2030.
French President Emmanuel Macron is slated to sign the bill within 48 hours, French media reported.
On March 16, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced that the government had adopted a law on raising the retirement age to 64 by invoking Article 49.3 of the constitution, which allowed the bill to get passed without parliamentary approval. The decision sparked a strong backlash, prompting people to take to the streets across the country.
