China News Agency, Paris, January 19 (Reporter Li Yang) France encountered a wave of large-scale strikes and demonstrations on the 19th local time.

Related activities were launched by major French trade union organizations to oppose the reform of the retirement system.

　　The reporter saw at the Gare de Lyon, a public transportation hub in central Paris, that most passenger train services have been cancelled, and high-speed trains that are not in operation are stopping at the station.

There are very few passengers on the railway station platform.

A number of station staff were on hand to help provide updates on train operations.

　　The strike on the same day seriously affected public transportation. In addition to the impact on French railway passenger services, many subway lines in Paris also stopped operating, and more than 10 subway lines only provided limited services during peak hours.

Some school teachers in France also joined the strike.

In addition, some French refineries also suffered strikes that day.

A strike by EDF workers also led to a drop in power generation in Paris.

　　On the 19th, major French trade unions launched large-scale demonstrations against the reform of the retirement system across France.

According to the French Ministry of the Interior, 1.12 million people participated in demonstrations across France, including 80,000 people in Paris.

The French Federation of Trade Unions stated that more than 2 million people participated in the demonstrations across France, including 400,000 people in Paris.

　　The reporter saw at the Place de la République in Paris that day that tens of thousands of people gathered here from various places in Paris. Many people held self-made placards, and some people were busy distributing leaflets. The content is basically opposing the reform of the retirement system and opposing the extension of the statutory retirement age.

Some demonstrators called for the statutory retirement age to be lowered to 60 from the current 62.

　　The reporter noticed that the people participating in the demonstrations came from all walks of life, including taxi drivers, entertainers, teachers, doctors and so on.

Many students also joined the ranks of demonstrations, many of whom believe that the future will be completely affected by the reform of the retirement system.

　　The demonstration in Paris started at 2:00 p.m. from the Place de la République. More than two hours later, the parade had not completed half of the planned itinerary. There were still a large number of people waiting to start at the Place de la Republique, which shows the large number of participants.

At around 7:00 p.m., most of the parade arrived at the square of the nation.

The demonstrations in Paris were generally peaceful, with a large number of police on the scene.

　　French President Macron visited Spain on the 19th.

When asked about voices opposing the reform of the retirement system, Macron said that people have the legal right to express their opinions, but he hopes that violence will not occur.

　　French officials announced on the 10th the retirement system reform plan, plans to delay the statutory retirement age from the current 62 years old to 64 years old.

A number of recent polls have shown that most French people support maintaining the retirement age of 62, and oppose delaying the retirement age.

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