French demonstrators launched another protest and strike today against French President Macron's pension reform.

(Reuters)

(Central News Agency) Demonstrators in France launched another day of protests and strikes today to condemn French President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms after the latest talks between the government and unions stalled.

There are signs that the two-and-a-half-month-old protests are starting to lose some momentum, with unions hoping for mass participation in the 11th protest since January.

Please read on...

All parties in the standoff are awaiting a ruling on the validity of the pension reform on Friday by France's Constitutional Council, which has the power to cancel some or all of the legislation.

Emmanuel Macron, currently on a visit to China, is facing the biggest challenge of his second term, his plan to overhaul the pension system, which includes raising the mandatory retirement age from 62 to 64.

"We're still calling for the annual change to be revoked," Laurent Berger, head of the more moderate CFDT, France's largest trade union, told RTL Radio this morning.

"We are following the democratic process, which is to protest this pension bill."

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced in the National Assembly on March 16 that he would use Article 49.3 of the Constitution to forcefully pass the pension reform bill without a vote. Since then, the protests have turned into violent riots.

Police expect 600,000 to 800,000 people across the country to protest today.