The Eiffel Tower shut down, France’s high-speed trains stood still and tens of thousands of people marched through Paris and other cities in a massive and sometimes chaotic outpouring of anger at the government’s plan to overhaul the retirement system.
A youth runs during a demonstration in Paris, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. Small groups of protesters are smashing store windows, setting fires and hurling flares in eastern Paris amid mass strikes over the government's retirement reform.
. Macron himself remained “calm and determined” to push it through, according to a top presidential official. Some travelers showed support for the striking workers. Others complained about being embroiled in someone else’s fight. Police carried out security checks of more than 9,000 people arriving for the demonstration and detained 71 even before it started. Embassies warned tourists to avoid the protest area.
And young and old roundly condemned the new retirement plan, which they fear would take money out of their pockets and reduce the period of relaxation the French expect in the last decades of their lives. The big question is how long the strike will last. Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne said she expects the travel troubles to be just as bad on Friday, and unions said they will maintain the Paris subway system strike at least through Monday.
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