French Protesters Storm Headquarters of Luxury Giant LVMH

By Staff, Agencies

Hundreds of thousands of people took part in a fresh round of demonstrations across France on Thursday over government plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, a day before a crucial court ruling on the constitutionality of the divisive law.

Protesters in Paris forced their way into the headquarters of luxury giant LVMH, on the day shares in the company – which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton and Moët – jumped to a record high.

“If Macron wants to find money to finance the pension system, he should come here to find it,” Fabien Villedieu, a union leader, told CNN affiliate BFMTV outside the LVMH building.

Multiple flare ups have taken place throughout the day.

Police halted a protest in front of the Constitutional Council, France’s equivalent of the US supreme court, which will hand down a long-awaited ruling on the validity of the pension reform law on Friday.

A ban on protests in the area is in place from Thursday evening until Saturday morning local time.

Violence also broke out at Paris’ Place de la Bastille as riot police clashed with angry protestors.

The police were also seen protecting the BHV department store by charging at protesters in the Rue de Rivoli in central Paris.

The police arrested 47 people in Paris and at least ten police officers were injured, according to Paris police prefecture.

Around 380,000 people attended the protests across France on Thursday, 42,000 of whom were in Paris, according to the latest figures from the French interior ministry.

The figure is down from last week’s 11th round of demonstrations which drew in crowds of approximately 570,000.

Police had been expecting further violent attacks that have been a visible, if minor, feature of the protests across France over the past two and a half months, with particular attention on so-called “black bloc” protesters, part of a radical fringe that has been present from the start of the country’s social upheaval.