French trade unions on Thursday brought tens of thousands of demonstrators onto the streets in a make-or-break push to force President Emmanuel Macron to abandon his planned pension reform.
- France’s main unions called for Paris métro workers, state railway workers, power utility workers, dock workers, health workers, teachers, lawyers and pilots to participate in Thursday’s protests.
- The interior ministry said 452,000 people nationwide answered the union leaders’ protest call, a significant decline since the first big day of action on Dec. 5, which brought 806,000 onto the streets
- Just two out of 14 Paris métro lines were running as normal, with reduced service on all other lines, buses, trams and RER commuter trains.
- France's national railway service, SNCF, reduced departures for five categories of trains.
- Schools were shut and power generation by EDF, the country's main energy utility, was cut by about 10%.
- The hardline CGT union called for anti-pension reform mobilisations to continue on Friday and Saturday.
Follow our live blog below for all the day's developments across the country.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
