UPDATE - Trade Union Says 700,000 Protesters Join Strike Against Pension Reform In Paris - Reports

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th March, 2023) The leading French trade union, the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), said that 700,000 people took part in a nationwide strike against pension reform in Paris on Tuesday, French media reported.

The CGT added that the number of protesters had increased significantly compared to the strike held on February 16, when 33,000 people took part in the demonstration, the BFMTV broadcaster said.

Earlier in the day, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported that some of the protesters clashed with law enforcement officers, forcing the police to use tear gas several times.

Police also used batons and water cannons to calm the Black Bloc radicals, who had been destroying road asphalt, throwing incendiary mixtures, glass bottles and rocks at police officers, and vandalizing bus stops, flowerbeds and road signs, according to the correspondent.

Members of several leading French unions (CFDT, CGT, FO, Usa, Solidaires) reportedly began their protest at Boulevard Raspail in the city center and marched toward the Place d'Italie in the south of Paris, carrying their unions' flags, as well as banners with anti-pension reform slogans.

Supporters of the Yellow Vest movement were also spotted during the protest.

Earlier in the day, the France Bleu broadcaster, citing the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) trade union, reported that fuel supplies from all refineries in France were blocked as a result of the strike. The protest affected the transportation of fuel from the plants, but not its production, the report noted.

The next, seventh nationwide strike is expected in France on March 11, the BFMTV broadcaster said, citing sources.

In January, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne unveiled a draft of the controversial pension reform that the government plans to adopt in 2023. Under the initiative, the French authorities intend to gradually raise the retirement age in the country by three months a year from September 1, 2023. By 2030, the retirement age will reach 64.

The reform has caused a wave of protests in French society. Since Borne's announcement, six nationwide demonstrations, including today's event, against the reform have already taken place in France. The first two, held on January 19 and 31, gathered over 1 million people nationwide.