France Protests: 320,000 March Against Pension Reform as Police Clash with Demonstrators in Paris

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France on Saturday in the latest round of protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform, with the interior ministry estimating a nationwide turnout of 320,000. While the figure marked a decline from the previous two weekends, the demonstrations remained a powerful display of public anger over the plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. In Paris and several other cities, clashes broke out between police and protesters, with officers firing tear gas and making arrests as some groups set fires and smashed shop windows. The protests have become a defining challenge for Macron’s government, which used a special constitutional power to push the pension law through parliament without a vote last month. The move inflamed opposition and sparked some of the largest demonstrations in years. Unions, which have led the strike and protest movement since January, have vowed to keep up the pressure until the reform is withdrawn. Saturday’s turnout, though lower than the nearly 1 million recorded on some previous protest days, still underscored the depth of resistance. The interior ministry’s count of 320,000 was disputed by the CGT union, which claimed far higher numbers. The clashes in Paris, particularly around the Place de la République and the Bastille, highlighted the risk of violence overshadowing the movement’s message. With the Constitutional Council set to rule on the legality of the pension law in the coming weeks, both sides are bracing for a pivotal moment. For Macron, the protests represent a test of his ability to govern through crisis; for the unions and opposition, they are a fight over the future of France’s social model. The coming days will show whether the movement can regain momentum or begins to fade.