Rioters set fire to town hall & clash with cops as protests rage on across France after Macron forced pension reform | The Sun
RIOTERS torched a town hall in France's third-largest city Lyon overnight, as furious protests over planned raises to the country's pension age continue to blaze.
Angry crowds chanting "revolution" also swarmed onto the largest square in Paris during a second night of major rioting in France.
In Lyon, rioters stormed a local town hall and set it on fire during the violent protests against pension reforms by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Early Saturday morning, masked youths broke into the historic town hall for the city's fourth arrondissement, ransacking it and setting it on fire.
A local police spokesman said: "They smashed down the door and then went inside to vandalise it.
"Windows were smashed and furniture upturned and there was then an attempt to burn the building down."
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On the walls were scrawled slogans including "Macron is done" and "Power to the People".
Rioting continued across France for a second night, with crowds chanting "Revolution!" swarming into Paris' Place de La Concorde, the largest square in the French capital.
Riot cops using tear gas and baton charges tried to clear the ancient square, the scene of the execution of France's last king and queen, Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette.
Earlier that day, police pepper-sprayed young protesters close to the famous Sorbonne University in Paris, while traffic was also blocked across the city.
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Police made around 61 arrests on Friday night, on top of the 310 made on Thursday, according to the country's Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin.
President Macron's decision to raise the country's retirement age from 62 to 64 has sparked waves of furious protests across France.
The controversial move on Thursday saw Macron bypass a vote in the French parliament to push through the change in law.
In parliament, French MPs held up placards and sang their national anthem, the Marseillaise, to express their anger at being denied a vote on the bill.
One protester in Place de la Concorde slammed the measure as "undemocratic" and branded Macron a "detested head of state".
The unnamed 38-year-old man added: "There are all kinds of French citizens here, and we are voicing our opposition to his dictatorship.
"We will keep coming here every night until Macron backs down."
Rioters have warned of a wave of mass protests similar to the gilets jaunes (yellow vest) movement in 2018.
Earlier on Friday, opposition parties tabled no-confidence votes against Macron's government in a bid to bring it down.
Trade unions are also planning further strikes to try and force a U-turn by Macron.
Rubbish has piled up in the streets of Paris after bin collection workers went on strike to protest the planned changes.
Some 9,000 tonnes of waste has not been collected since the start of the strike, with unions pledging to continue to hold out until next week.
Supporters of the law change insist it is essential to ensure that France's pension system doesn't go bankrupt.
France's official retirement age of 62 is among the lowest in Europe.
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But a poll by France's RTL radio shows that some 80 per cent of French people are against the planned rise, and almost two-thirds of the population support the strikes and protests.
And many of those on the streets have called for higher taxes on the wealthy to pay for the soaring pension costs.
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