Updated 21:30 paris
Tens of thousands of demonsrators took to the streets across France on Thursday during the second day of national mass protests.
According to the Interior ministry, some 452,000 people hit the streets, as teachers and other public-sector employees joined train and metro workers in their 36 day public strike.
In Paris, police said at least 24 people were detained, as 56,000 protesters marched toward the Saint-Lazare train station.
Tensions flared in Paris and other cities as some black-clad protesters broke glass panelled shopfronts and bus stops, while others threw stones agaisnt police who tried to disperse crowds with tear gas.
Thursday's nationwide protest organised by the unions was considered the biggest show of strengh in decades against the proposed plan to France's 42 pension schemes.
Rallying supporters
Many schools were closed as France’s hard-left unions rallied supporters behind one of the longest strikes in the country’s history. Police fired teargas at protesters in Nantes, while in Bordeaux and Marseille, workers waved union flags and set off smoke flares.
This fourth day of protest comes on the eve of a new round of negotiations between trade unions and the government. It’s also the 36th day of back-to-back strikes that began on 5 December.
Transport was hugely disrupted in Paris, where a six-hour rally began at Place de la République around 1:30pm – before passing through Boulevard Magenta, rue Lafayette, rue du Châteaudun and ending in the Saint Augustin neighbourhood near Saint-Lazare train station.
Demonstrations are also taking place in cities across France, including Lille, Marseille, Lyon, Rennes and Strasbourg.
Les avocats caennais en grève contre la réforme des retraites jettent leur robe face à leur ministre Nicole Belloubet pic.twitter.com/Id50zNEv8R
France Bleu Normandie (Calvados, Orne) (@fbleubnormandie) January 8, 2020
Rail operator SNCF said one-third of Transilien suburban services will be running, over half of high-speed trains and just a fifth of cross-country services.
By 8:30am Thursday in the wider Paris region, the Ile-de-France, 375km of traffic jams had been recorded.
With an average of 9 out of 16 subway lines completely shut down in December, transport authorities announced that annual Navigo pass holders will receive a full refund for the month.
Negotiations stalemate
Earlier this week, talks aimed at ending the transport strike failed to break the deadlock over French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age and introduce a universal points system.
The hardline CGT and FO unions are repeating demands that the pension reform be withdrawn altogether.
The moderate CFDT union, which is not calling for rallies Thursday, has suggested a “funding conference” be held for the various pension regimes, to which the government declared itself open.
The CFDT, which favors the points system, maintains its firm opposition to the so-called "pivotal age", which would allow a person to retire at 62, but require them to work two more years to get a full pension.
A Paris 20e : départ en manifestation avec les enseignants, les agents #RATP de la ligne 3. TouTEs ensemble en grève pour gagner ! #greve9janvier #reformedesretraites #GreveGenerale pic.twitter.com/QLsrzYcSj6 RT Lanticapitalis1
NextAlert Ile-de-France (@Next_Alert) January 9, 2020
(with AFP)
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