PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2023) Protesters have clashed with law enforcement in several French cities, where people took to the streets following the adoption of the controversial pension reform, BFMTV reports.
Spontaneous unauthorized demonstrations were held on Saturday in Paris, Rennes, Lyon and Lille.
In Rennes, protesters set several vehicles on fire and threw rocks and glass bottles at law enforcement officers. Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Eleven people were detained.
Tear gas was also used to disperse protesters in Lyon on Saturday.
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 then signed the reform into law and it was published in France's Official Journal (Le Journal Officiel) on Saturday morning.
French unions called on the country's population to go on a general nationwide strike against the reform on May 1, according to the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). Protests were held across France on Friday and Saturday.
