French police detain over 300 people protesting against pension reform

French law enforcement officers detained over 310 people protesting against the government’s pension reform in downtown Paris.

Clashes between police and protesters broke out at Place de la Concorde, and police dispersed the rally using water cannons and tear gas, the BFM television channel reported citing the country’s interior ministry.

After the crowd was pushed away from the square, some protesters continued to damage property in nearby districts, setting fire to trash bins, motorbikes and cars, and daubing walls with paint. Police wearing anti-riot gear continue to patrol the affected districts.

Apart from Paris, large-scale demonstrations against the reform and the government’s actions were held in numerous cities all over France. More than 10,000 people took to the streets in Toulouse. Major rallies were also held in Bordeaux, Grenoble, Strasbourg, Toulon, Lille, Nantes and other cities.

Serious clashes were reported in Marseille, where, according to a France Presse report, masked vandals smashed windows of shops, banks and insurance companies, and set fire to trash bins and cars.

On March 16, the French Senate passed the final version of the bill, which, among other things, raises the retirement age to 64 and scraps a number of retirement benefits.