Emmanuel Macron's pension overhaul has passed its final hurdle – but protesters say they won't accept it.
Anger that has been building on the streets of France in recent months has boiled over into blistering rage.
Spontaneous protests broke out across the country after France's constitutional council approved the Macron government's controversial pension bill.
Clashes erupted between protesters and riot police, as small groups of rioters set fires in the streets.
Thousands gathered outside the town hall in Paris to protest one final time as the verdict was announced.
Among the workers union groups who turned out in force was secretary-general of the Paris chapter of the CGT workers union, Bernard Martin. He told the ABC he was shocked but not surprised by the verdict.
"There is true anger all around the country," he said.
"Macron is governing against the people, one of the risks is the anger is too strong.
"Our message to the president is to stop. Don't put the country through blood and fire. Stop. It's still possible to be rational and to keep our democracy."
Twenty-one-year-old University student Hortense says those opposing the bill will continue to fight against the reform.
"This decision can not erase three-and-a-half months of protesting," she said.
"We're just more angry to not be listened to and we will not go home now."
France's constitutional court made its decision on Friday evening, ruling in full that the Macron government's reforms were legal. The court could have sent the decision to a referendum, or chosen to approve only parts of the legislation.
There are no further challenges the dissenting French public can bring against the legislation now, lawyer Johan Zenou said.
"We are facing an extraordinary situation, the opposition to this legislation is huge but … the opponents won't have any more options unfortunately," Mr Zenou told the ABC.
"This is the end of the legislative process. The constitutional court is the last legislative checkpoint and after this the law will be enacted and it will be applicable."
France's changing demographics
The constitutional council's approval is a political victory for the French president, but it could deepen the domestic crisis facing his government.
Mr Macron's pension shake-up seeks to increase the age most workers can begin to qualify for a full pension from 62 to 64.
He says the unpopular change is needed to equip France to support its ageing population, which is higher than the OECD average.
France has a pay-as-you-go pension system, where current wage earners pay the taxes needed to finance those receiving a pension.
In the 1960s, it had a ratio of roughly four workers to every retiree, but by 2070 that ratio is expected to shrink to just 1.2 workers per pension recipient.
"The reform is necessary to get the pension budget under control because the government foresees that in the next two decades there will be a deficit of about €12 billion or more," economist Elena Bassoli told the ABC.
"So the idea of raising the retirement age will ensure the sustainability of the budget for pensions in the long run."
But the proposal to deny workers their public pension for an additional two years is deeply unpopular and will impact some members of society worse than others.
Women, who disproportionately take on the caretaker role at home, will be made to stay in the workforce longer if they spend time out of work raising children or caring for family members.
"To ensure a full annuity, they will have to see more years in the labour market and this could create a lot of difficulties for women at the end of their careers," Ms Bassoli said.
"We do know that the unemployment rate for older people, like people above 50 in France, is pretty high compared to European standards so this could also be an issue for them if they have to stay longer because of this reform."
How Macron won a risky gambit
Emmanuel Macron promised to reform France's pension system during his successful presidential campaign last year, but his government lost absolute majority in parliamentary elections shortly after.
This has hobbled his ability to enact the major reforms he set out to achieve in his second and final term in office.
Fearing his pension bill would not pass a vote, he forced it through parliament last month, using executive powers available to him through a constitutional loophole known as article 49.3.
The procedure has been used by previous governments but is unpopular among voters.
While Article 49.3 allows the government to pass a bill without a vote in the lower house of parliament, opposition MPs are then able to file a no-confidence motion within 24 hours.
If more than half the parliament supports the no confidence motion, the government is forced to resign and its legislation is scrapped.
Macron's government faced two votes of no-confidence — the first failed by a margin of just nine votes. The second was supported by 94 MPs, well short of the 287 needed to pass.
Both the president and his pension bill narrowly survived.
Winning over the constitutional court was the final hurdle for Mr Macron to jump, and its ruling in favour of the reform brings any uncertainty over the future of France's pension scheme to a close.
Younger generations fighting for their future
Nearly 70 per cent of the French public opposes the pension changes and many are angry at the method their president used to force it through parliament.
The day before the constitutional court's decision, hundreds of thousands of protesters, young and old, took to the streets in a final attempt to influence the court's decision.
"We don't want to work two more years, obviously, but it's also how the government made this law happen … which is not how democracy should work," French University Student Union secretary Emmy Marc told the ABC.
"This law is like the government saying 'you don't have any right on your pensions anymore and we don't care … we will modify everything and we will say that we control everything'."
Ms Marc is 23 years old and has been spearheading student involvement in protests against the pension reform.
"For us it's really important as students, and as citizens of France, to protest because it's our future, and nobody listens to what we want for our future."
Frustrated young people, some still in high school, have become a feature of the now frequent anti-government protests.
Many are yet to enter the workforce and are decades away from being personally affected by changes to the retirement age, but they fear the erosion of other labour benefits will follow.
"There is a lot of anger in France and the government will not listen to it," Ms Marc said.
"It's not just to not work two years more, but it's how we envision our society … and what the government is proposing is not what we want.
"So we are protesting and we will not back down, because if we back down now, the government will do a lot more worse."
The future workforce is being supported at protests by current pension recipients who believe the next generation should receive the same entitlements they do now.
"It's unbearable, there has been no consultation, a disgusting spite of unions, disdain for the people, this guy who's governing us and his team all have a cognitive deficit," retired teacher Josette told the ABC.
"It's not going to end well and he [Macron] wants it that way."
Retired florist Marie Jose says people in France view their retirement as a chance to enjoy life and don't want to work until they die.
"There's work and it's good but there's not only work in life, there are other things."
Edoardo Seghi has worked as a hairdresser for more than 30 years.
From his Paris salon, he tells the ABC it feels as though the government is acting like a monarchy trying to steal time from its subjects.
"Younger generations feel like time is being stolen from them. Their future is being stolen. People have had enough," he said.
"People see this government behave as a kingdom, crushing its people. Macron being the king of course. Members of his government are his generals.
"I think that we are the people. We are the ones who should be deciding what our country should look like. Not them. They are mere delegates, employees of the people."
Trade and student union groups say they're not deterred by the Constitutional Council's decision to approve the legislation and will continue campaigning against changes to the pension age until the government revokes it.
