More than a million people demonstrated across France on Thursday, while trains were disrupted and schools closed in Paris in the context of widespread strikes and protests against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform project.

The reform project, foremost of which is the clause raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years, faces opposition from a unified trade union front, in addition to a great resentment among public opinion, according to polls.

On Thursday evening, the French Ministry of the Interior counted 1.12 million demonstrators across the country, including 80,000 in the capital, Paris, while the CGT union spoke of "more than two million" demonstrators.

More than 200 demonstrations took place in Paris and its regions, and took place quietly, with the exception of some confrontations in the capital and the cities of Lyon (east) and Rennes (west).

At the start of the march in Paris, Laurent Berger, Secretary General of the French Democratic Union of Labor, said that the mobilization "exceeded our expectations."

Commenting on the project to extend the retirement age, a teacher named Manon Mark in Paris confirmed her rejection of the reform, saying, "I see that they are mocking us. They do not know what it means for someone to work until the age of 64 in these circumstances."

A new mobilization day is scheduled to be organized on January 31, a date agreed upon by the eight largest French unions during their meeting after the Paris demonstration, according to several union sources.


Continuous strikes

This movement coincides with the continuation of strikes in more than one sector, as workers in the public "Electric de France" reduced electricity production to at least twice Paris' consumption of electrical production.

The branch of the General Refineries Union in the "Total Energy" group also recorded a strike of 70-100% of the workers in most of the group's branches.

The strike was very significant in transportation, with no trains running between the regions and few high-speed trains operating, depriving a large part of the Paris suburbs from the ease of transportation.

On Thursday, the Civil Aviation Authority asked airlines to cancel 20% of their flights from Paris Orly airport, due to the strike by air traffic controllers.

The "Unified Trade Union" of teachers in France also pointed out that 70% of teachers in primary schools and 65% in middle and secondary schools have gone on strike.

Observers expect that if the social movement is comprehensive and long, this will weaken Emmanuel Macron's party, especially since it does not have a majority in the National Assembly.

The retirement system amendment project constitutes an important station for the French president in his second term.

This political test for Macron, who still keeps himself out of direct confrontation and leaves Prime Minister Elizabeth Born in the forefront, comes in a tense economic and social context.

And from Barcelona, ​​​​which he visited on Thursday to sign a Franco-Spanish treaty, Macron hoped that the demonstrations would take place "without disturbing" the French, reiterating the defense of his project, which was "approved democratically," as he put it.

The French are suffering from an inflation rate of 5.2% in 2022, in a country that was previously rocked by the "yellow vest" demonstrations, protesting the high cost of living in Macron's first term.