Protests continue in France. Protesters demand the resignation of the government and the president
Protests continue unabated in France. More than a million people have taken to the streets in several French cities to show their dissatisfaction with the pension law. Protesters are demanding the resignation of the government and the president. In Paris and other cities, protesters set fire to cars and rubbish bins. Police intervened in force to calm the violent crowd. After last night's clashes, more than 170 protesters were detained by police. Charles III's visit to Paris has been postponed because of the unrest. The British monarch was scheduled to arrive on Sunday. The King and his wife Camilla were due to spend three days in France.
Burnt-out rubbish bins, damaged shops, broken windows in restaurants and banks - this is what the French capital looked like in the early hours of the morning after the protest that brought together hundreds of thousands of people.
Protesters, angry that the retirement age has been raised by two years, threw firecrackers and smoke bombs, set fire to rubbish bins and damaged everything in their path.
Protesters overturned construction equipment and bicycles along the streets and chanted insults at President Emmanuel Macron. The violence escalated throughout the night, when protesters got into fights with police, torched a shop and several cars, shop windows and the town hall of Bordo.
The violent clashes resulted in more than 150 police and gendarmes injured. Clashes also took place in the cities of Nantes, Rennes and Lyon between demonstrators and police, who used tear gas and water cannons.
According to trade unions, 3.5 million people took part in demonstrations across the country. But the interior ministry says there were just over a million demonstrators. They also blocked a terminal to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. More than 15 percent of public transport workers have not turned up for work. There was also a strike at the national electricity supplier, which warned that electricity supplies would be disrupted because of the protest. The French say they will continue to protest until their voice is heard by the authorities.
