Hundreds of thousands protest against Macron's increase in pension age

Emmanuel Macron felt the full force of French anger yesterday as protesters gathered across the country to demonstrate their opposition to the pension age being raised from 62 to 64.

- Kim Willsher

Hundreds of thousands of people marched through Paris and other cities, mostly peacefully, to demand the government drop the fiercely contested change.

In Paris, the official cortege made up of a large cross-section of French society - young, old, professional, unemployed-set off peacefully from Place de la Bastille early in the afternoon and made its way to Place de l'Opéra along the Grands Boulevards, the main east-west road through northern Paris. French union members, carrying flags and banners, were flanked by their own stewards to ensure their security.

The crowd was dense, and angry with the government and president, but the mood was festive and motivated by a show of solidarity. The country's second-largest union, the CGT, claimed 800,000 people had turned out.

The ambiance was marred, however, by a group of young men and women dressed in black and wearing masks, called casseurs (smashers), who destroyed bus shelters, advertising hoardings, shop windows, the front of a McDonald's and newspaper kiosks, leaving a trail of glass and piles of burning bins. They also pulled up the cast-iron grills around trees, and paving stones, which were broken up and thrown at police.