Huge French pension reform protests give way to fiery overnight clashes - CNN

More than a million people took to the streets across France on Thursday with protests turning violent in some areas as demonstrators voiced their fury at proposed pension reforms.

Clashes between groups of protesters and police broke out after workers staged a national strike throughout Thursday, with flare-ups in Paris and regional capitals.

Police fired tear gas at crowds in northwestern Lorient, while video from Rennes shows authorities using water cannons to disperse protesters.

Thursday was the ninth day of strikes in the country and the first of coordinated action since French President Emmanuel Macron’s government pushed a bill to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 through parliament without a vote last week.

The mostly peaceful day of strike action – which saw 119,000 people march in Paris, according to the Interior Ministry – disrupted transport networks, oil refineries and schools.

“[Macron] has added fuel to the fire,” Philippe Martinez, secretary general of the CGT, France’s largest union, told French broadcaster LCI on Thursday.