France: 3 arrests as protesters clash with police

By Yusuf Ozcan

PARIS (AA) - As protests against the French government’s proposed pension reform continued Saturday, protesters clashed with the police in Paris.

Protestors gathered at Paris Gare du Nord train station upon the call of the unions to march toward Chtelet Square.

Security forces used tear gas to block demonstrators during the march which also saw the attendance of Yellow Vest protesters.

Jerome Rodrigues, a leader of the Yellow Vest movement, was also injured in his eye by an object fired by the police, he told reporters.

Three protesters were arrested during the Paris protest, according to police.

Lyon, Nice, Metz, Toulouse and Rennes also saw protesters take to the streets.

Ongoing for 24 days, the strike have caused serious disruptions in transportation, health and the public sector in the capital and other cities.

On Dec. 5, France saw one of the biggest strikes in its recent history, with demonstrators continuing to protest against Macron's pension scheme.

The Interior Ministry said 806,000 people took part in the protests, while labor unions put the number at nearly 1.5 million. Police used smoke bombs to disperse the crowds.

More than 90 people have been arrested, according to police.

- Proposed reform

France currently has 42 different pension programs for different sectors, but the government proposed to unify those systems into one pension scheme.

France’s current program is based on the principle of solidarity between generations under which the working population finances the pensioners of that year.

But due to the aging population, fewer people are paying into the current system.

To fix this, the government introduced a point-based system that would compensate workers with pension points for every day they work or every euro they contribute.

The plan would lift privileges granted to civil servants and gradually increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, a move expected to adversely affect many sectors.

Workers would get full pensions if they retire at the age of 64. If they retired before, they would lose 5% of their pensions for every year they retire early.

They would also see a 5% increase in pensions for every year if they retire after the age of 64.