UPDATE - Rally starts in Paris against pension reform for 12th time

CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK; ADDS MORE DETAILS

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – A rally against the government's pension reform started Thursday afternoon in Paris.

This is the 12th round since January, with hundreds of thousands of workers walking out and millions rallying.

The government and President Emmanuel Macron are not willing to back-pedal on the pension reform, and the Constitutional Council will achieve examining the bill on Friday.

Protests were held in other cities as well, including Lyon, Nantes, and Marseille.

A group of protesting workers, members of the SudRail trade union entered the premises of the multinational luxury goods conglomerate LVMH in Paris, the daily Le Figaro said.

They started to chant and did a peaceful protest without causing any damage, the same source added.

This was a symbolic action targeting wealth as LVMH's founder and CEO Bernard Arnault is currently the wealthiest man in the world, it also said.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin prohibited demonstrations near the Council as of Thursday evening, and to include Friday evening, the same source added.

French authorities on Thursday expect up to 600,000 protesters, including 70,000 in Paris, the daily noted.

A total of 11,500 police officers will be deployed in the country to intervene in possible troubles, including 4,200 in Paris, the Interior Ministry said, according to Le Figaro.

The government unveiled the reform project in January and parliament started debating it the following month.

Workers and trade unions have expressed growing outrage by holding demonstrations and walkouts against the reform, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, and requiring at least 43 years of work to be eligible for a full pension.

Political and social tension rose on March 16 when Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne decided to use special constitutional powers to force the plan through without parliamentary approval.

When the protests turned violent after that decision, police were accused of making arbitrary arrests and using force disproportionately.