French police use tear gas, make arrests in pension reform protests

Strikes and protests against pension reform in France reached a new level of intensity on Thursday as government opponents blocked railway stations, roads and part of the Charles-de-Gaulle international airport in Paris.
Police in the capital used tear gas against demonstrators and made five arrests, while large gatherings also grew heated in other cities, including Bordeaux, Nantes and Rennes, media reports said.
The Interior Ministry said 1.09 million people turned out across France. The CGT union said 3.5 million people took part.
Around 12,000 police officers were deployed.
Strike and protest days had been mostly peaceful for weeks, but recent days saw increasing violence during spontaneous demonstrations.
"We want non-violent actions that respect property and people," said Laurent Berger of the CFDT multi-sector union in a bid to calm the situation.
The protests are directed against the gradual increase of the retirement age from 62 to 64, and more generally against the actions of the centre-right government of President Emmanuel Macron.
There have been repeated protests against the government's plans, which aim to close a looming gap in the pension fund with the reform.
A week ago, the stand-off also intensified as the government pushed the text of the reform through the National Assembly without a vote.
On Monday evening, two motions of no confidence in the government failed, which resulted in the reform being passed.
It is now being examined by the Constitutional Council, but no date has been set for it to make any ruling. Macron wants the reform to come into force by the end of the year.
The reform was "very difficult," the president said television interview a day earlier. "We are asking people to make an effort. It's never popular."
But, "Between the polls and the short-termism and the general interest of the country, I choose the general interest of the country," he added in defence of the reform.
Due to the strike, trains and flights were cancelled again on Thursday, and high schools and universities were partially blocked. The ongoing blockade of oil depots resulted in at least one fuel to be missing at 15% of the country's petrol stations, according to the BFMTV broadcaster.