MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd December, 2019) French train workers clashed with police in Paris on Monday, as the nationwide protests against pension reform have entered their 19th consecutive day despite President Emmanuel Macron's call for a Christmas break, media reported.
Protesters gathered on Monday morning near Gare de Lyon metro station, where the flow of passengers is especially high ahead of the holiday season, and where a lot of services were canceled due to the strikes, The Guardian newspaper reported.
Some of protesters addressed the crowd, slamming the proposed reform and calling for a continuation of rallies during the holidays. Others set off fireworks, with the smoke spreading to the hall of the metro station, according to the media.
A peaceful rally against Macron's pension plan was meanwhile staged outside the main office of the capital's public transport operator RATP in the upscale Bercy district, according to the BFMTV broadcaster.
The nationwide strikes started on December 5 in response to Macron's plan to replace 42 different pension schemes with a universal, points-based system. The decision has angered not only train workers, but other public service employees, including teachers and police.
Although Macron hoped to "get a break" from strikes during the Christmas holidays, a number of trade unions said that the strikes could continue if the government did not withdraw the reform.
