PARIS: France braced Monday for another day of mass protests and strikes over proposed pension reforms championed by President Emmanuel Macron, with the government and its left-wing opponents trading blame for the expected disruption.
Around 1.1 million people took to the streets for the first strike day on January 19, according to official statistics, the biggest demonstrations since the last major round of pension reform under right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010. A police source told AFP that security forces were expecting similarly sized crowds on Tuesday in 240 demonstrations around the country, in addition to mass strike disruption to transport, education and other services. With unions warning more stoppages are to come, the strikes represent a major test for Macron as he seeks to implement a showcase policy of his second term in office.
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