Demonstrations also took place elsewhere in France. All together, there were a million protesters, the unions say. The security services keep it at 368,000 demonstrators.
The government of President Emmanuel Macron wants to raise the retirement age to 64 years. According to the government, this is necessary to keep social security affordable. At present, the retirement age is still 62, much lower than in most other European countries.
Pension reform is very difficult in France. There have been repeated demonstrations and strikes across the country in recent weeks.
During his first term in office, President Macron also tried to implement a pension reform, but even then this was met with a lot of protest and ultimately also with cancellation.
