Clashes erupt at French May Day protests against Macron

World

Published: 2023-05-01 22:07

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 06:43


Clashes erupt at French May Day protests against Macron
Clashes erupt at French May Day protests against Macron

Protesters clashed with security forces across France Monday as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets for Labour Day to vent their anger against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform.

Unions had been hoping for a vast turnout across France for the May 1 protests to further rattle Macron, who has been greeted by pot-bashing and jeers as he toured the country seeking to defend the reforms and relaunch his second mandate.

Macron last month signed a law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite months of strikes against the bill.

In Paris, radical protesters threw projectiles at police and broke windows of businesses such as banks and estate agents, with security forces responding with tear gas and water cannon, AFP correspondents said.

One policeman, hit by a Molotov cocktail, has suffered severe burns to the hand and face, Paris police told AFP.

The police said 46 people have been arrested in the capital alone so far.