French street protests: Macron vows not to yield to violence

French President Emmanuel Macron strongly condemned the violence that erupted in Thursday's demonstrations against raising the French retirement age and said he would not give in to it.

"We will yield nothing to violence. I condemn violence with the utmost strength," Mr Macron told a news conference after a European Union summit in Brussels on Friday.

He was under pressure to find a way out of a crisis that has seen some of France's worst street violence in years over a pension Bill he has pushed through Parliament without a vote.

In Paris and many cities across the country, clean-up crews sifted through broken glass, charred rubbish bins and shattered bus stops after violent clashes overnight between black-clad anarchists and police.

Some 441 police officers were injured and 475 people arrested on the ninth day of nationwide protests. Train and air services were disrupted while teachers were among many professionals walking off the job. Dozens of protesters were also injured.

Britain's King Charles III, who was due to make his first state visit to France on Sunday, will postpone his trip, following a phone call between the King and Mr Macron.