New Clashes Erupt in France as Hundreds of Thousands Continue to Protest Pension 

By Staff, Agencies 

Some 13,000 police were deployed across France after last week saw the most violent clashes of the movement between protestors and security forces.

Fresh clashes erupted in France on Tuesday between protestors and police as hundreds of thousands took to the streets to show their anger against the government’s pension reform that has sparked a major domestic crisis.

The day of nationwide demonstrations and strikes called by unions was the tenth since January against the law – which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 – turning into a firm challenge to French President Emmanuel Macron, and posing the biggest crisis yet in his second term.

Some 13,000 police were deployed across France after last week saw the most violent clashes of the movement between protestors and security forces, who have been accused of using excessive force, only fueling the anger further.

In eastern Paris, police fired tear gas and launched a charge after some protestors raided a grocery store and started a fire as the rally closed in on Place de la Nation. French authorities said at least 27 people were arrested.

The French Interior Ministry put Tuesday’s turnout at around 740,000 nationwide, down from the 1.09 million protestors who took to the streets last Thursday.

People delayed trains at Gare de Lyon, one of the busiest stations in Paris, walking on the rails and lighting flares in what they called a show of solidarity for a railway staffer who lost an eye in a previous rally. In Nantes, protestors threw projectiles at security forces who fired back tear gas, and a bank was set on fire.

Nearly two weeks after Macron forced the new pensions law through parliament using a special provision, unions have vowed no let-up in mass protests to get the government to back down.