French demonstrators & police CLASH as protests turn to riots (VIDEOS)

Riot police and demonstrators have clashed in France amid the ongoing general strike by labor unions against proposed pension reforms. Dozens have been arrested in Paris alone as over a million people marched across the country.

Footage from Paris shows protesters hurling objects at police, and riot-geared officers charging in response.

As flares light up the night, stun grenades can be heard exploding. There is also what appears to be tear gas.

Reports from across France during the day spoke of sporadic violence on the sidelines of the protests, including the smashing of shop windows and security cameras and setting fire to bicycles and effigies.

Huge crowds turned out on Thursday to protest against the proposal by President Emmanuel Macron’s government to reform the French pension system.

The CGT union said around 1.5 million people marched in support of the protest, while the interior ministry estimates spoke of 700,000. Either way, the protest easily dwarfed the weekly ‘Yellow Vests’ demonstrations that have been happening every Saturday for over a year now.

The widespread protest crippled public transportation services across the country, and is expected to continue until Monday. It is the largest general strike in France in decades.

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