FIRE AND FURY
France protests: Rioters set barricades on fire and cops launch tear gas at protestors as Macron pension fury spreads
RIOTERS set barricades on fire in Paris tonight as protests rage on over President Emmanuel Macron’s hated pension age reforms.
Anti government marches were staged in 50 towns and cities as hundreds of thousands took to the streets over Macron’s move to raise France’s retirement age from 62 to 64.
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Mobs set barricades alight in the east of the capital as riot police launched baton charges and volleys of tear gas grenades.
Ear-splitting explosions sent crowds fleeing in panic as protesters launched thunder flashes at police lines in the tenth nationwide day of disorder in under two weeks.
Shop windows and street furniture were also smashed as destructive splinter groups peeled off the main two-mile march.
Police responded with stun grenades as snatch squads of CRS riot cops stopped and searched fleeing suspects.
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Black clad anarchists and left-wing activists spearheaded the unrest as more violence was reported in the western city of Nantes, where cars were set on fire as police fired tear gas.
Similar scenes were reported in the southern port city of Marseille where angry protesters gathered behind placards declaring: "Keep calm and start a revolution."
Interior minister Gerald Darmanin announced an unprecedented force of 13,000 officers would be deployed to thwart a campaign to bring “fire and blood” to French streets.
Demos turned ugly as darkness fell after largely peaceful protests led by trade unions in Paris.
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Around 5,500 cops plus troops in reserve initially held back violent elements in a huge mile-long protest march to the sprawling Place de la Nation in the east of the city.
They quelled fears of large-scale disorder by confiscating riot gear and weapons from mobs of protesters.
But as darkness fell, a series of loud explosions rang out, tear gas sent crowds fleeing and barricades were set alight - before protesters were pushed back on the Rue de la Voltaire.
Intelligence experts said a tenth of those joining demos yesterday were sixth formers and university students - boosting the risk of disorder.
The union-led campaign is against the unpopular President Macron’s plan to raise the legal retirement age to 64.
Macron’s government is teetering on the brink amid spiralling civil strife and political chaos after pushing through the hated reforms using his executive powers.
It was the tenth day of strikes and protests after demos last week left 441 police officers injured as 447 arrests were reported during street disorder.
The chaos forced King Charles to postpone his state visit to France, which had been due to start on Sunday.
Trouble flared in Paris despite CGT Union reports that fewer people on the streets yesterday - 450,000 from around 800,000 last week.
Macron’s government was under more pressure last night despite the biggest security operation in recent French history yesterday.
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Riot police were supported by armoured cars, water cannons, and military units in reserve.
Minister Darmanin blamed left-wing agitators and anarchists on the continuing strife, declaring: “Radicalized elements from the Left and the Ultra-Left want to hijack trade union processions.”
“More than 1,000 radical elements, some of whom coming from abroad’ will target ‘Paris, Lyon, Rennes, Nantes, Dijon, Bordeaux,’ and other cities.”
The most feared group is Black Bloc – an alliance of anarchists from all over Europe who were believed to be among yesterday riot ringleaders.
King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, were meant to be in Bordeaux as part of a four-day state visit to France, but it was dramatically halted on Friday.
The protest movement is the biggest domestic crisis of Macron’s second term, with strikes yesterday also affecting refineries, bin collections, rail transport, air travel and schools.
The Louvre museum in Paris was blocked by strikers, while pickets continued at petrol depots and waste incinerators around the capital, where 10,000 tonnes of rubbish are still piling up.
Macron’s woes intensified as lawyers complained of excess violence and arbitrary arrests by squads of paramilitary police.
A 30-year-old man was fighting for his life in a coma on Tuesday after being repeatedly hit over the head with a police truncheon during a riot at the weekend.
Minister Darmanin hit back declaring “many police officers have been severely injured” during the protests.
Despite the violence and industrial paralysis, Mr Macron and his prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, said there was no chance of a climb down from flagship pensions reform.
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Ms Borne said: “We have to find the right path - we need to calm down.”
But Laurent Berger, the head of the moderate CFDT union, said the protests would continue until there was a U-turn.
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