protests against pension reform in France.

Photo: Jan Schmidt-Whitley/Le Pictorium / DPA

Some 500,000 people took to the streets of Paris this Saturday, according to the General Confederation of Workers (CGT),

in a new protest against the pension reform

planned by the government of President Emmanuel Macron, a figure to which we must add attendance at the approximately 240 protest calls throughout France.

The Parisian Police Prefecture has reported 94,000 attendees,

which in any case would confirm that it is the most massive protest since the mobilizations against the pension reform began.

The unions had called on "the entire population" to demonstrate this Saturday "even more massively" than last Tuesday, when some 757,000 people took to the streets throughout France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, almost two million according to the unions.

The stated goal is to “paralyze France” on March 7.

The day of protest has developed in a mostly peaceful way, but the Police Headquarters has reported some material damage.

The Police have intervened on several occasions: in an attempted assault on a bank branch on Boulevard de Voltaire, then on an insurance agency and later on a fast food restaurant on Place de Léon Blum

In addition, "radical elements" attempted to cause damage in the rue de Charonne at the start of a "wild march" shortly after 3:00 p.m.

Eight people were arrested according to the 4:30 p.m. report from the Police Headquarters sent to FranceInfo.

The most notable event took place at the Orly international airport, south of Paris, where a surprise stoppage has forced the cancellation of half of the flights.

The French Government continues to propose gradually raising the retirement age until it reaches 64 years - two years above the current 62 - and increasing the contribution period required to access the maximum pension.

The text also removes the specific privileges of certain groups.

However, the government does not have a guaranteed majority to carry out a reform, which has received criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.

The former presidential candidate of La Francia Insumisa (LFI), Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has called on the country's president, Emmanuel Macron, to be "reasonable" and not "authoritarian."

(With information from Europa Press)