In the “mother of all strikes”, as she was called unions when it was announced, crowds of people gathered in dozens of its cities France in protest against the new law passed macron government a week earlier, which increases retirement age limit from 62 to 64 years old.

On the day the bill was announced, a spontaneous rally took place on Place de la Concorde, in front of the National Assembly building, incidents followed, and a little later the trade unions invited citizens to yesterday’s rally.

About 800,000 people gathered on Thursday, about 80,000 of them in Pariswhile the CGT union says 800,000 people have gathered in the Paris region alone, making it the biggest gathering since protests against the new pension law began, which began with the first general strike on 19 January.

It is noted that for the first time in ten years, the country’s largest trade unions decided to act as a united front in demonstrations and hold a joint strike, while student associations, workers’ unions and opposition parties also participated in the mobilizations. In addition, the cleaners in Paris have been on strike for 17 days, leaving many parts of the capital in a suffocating atmosphere, with universities, factories and refineries across the country under occupation.

The new pension law was passed using the famous Article 49.3 of the constitution, which gives the government the ability to bypass a vote in the National Assembly and enact the law by a simple presidential decree. This was followed by a vote of no confidence in the government on behalf of the opposition parties, which, however, was defeated by a margin of nine votes.

However, despite the fact that the new bill has officially passed, the French protesters mainly demanded its repeal, while many called for the resignation of Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Born.

In addition, public opinion appeared to be alarmed by President Macron’s interview the day after the bill was passed, in which he stated that he did not intend to pursue any reorganization, withdrawal or electoral process and that he intended to enforce the law. literally. In a poll conducted by the newspaper Le Figaro involving voters of all parties, it turned out that 76% of the French were “not convinced” by Emmanuel Macron’s interview.

Gatherings in most cities were massive and lasted from morning until late in the evening. However, there have been clashes with police and incidents in major urban centers such as Marseille, Rennes, Lyon and Paris.

In the capital, where the demonstration started from the historic Place de la Bastille, the incidents were especially widespread: protesters threw Molotov cocktails and attacked shop windows, and anti-government slogans were written on the walls of buildings in the city center.

Security forces used tear gas extensively and a police officer was knocked unconscious during street fighting that continued until late at night.