Fourth day of pension reform protests hits France

By THOMAS ADAMSON and JADE LE DELEY
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Police are out in force across France as protesters hold a fourth round of nationwide demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to reform the country’s pension system. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in the course of the day in Paris, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Nantes and other cities in hopes keeping up the pressure on the government to back down. The demonstrations on Saturday drew young people and others opposed to the pension proposals who weren’t able to attend the previous three days of action, all held on weekdays. Unions issued a joint statement calling the government “deaf” and demanding French officials scrap the flagship legislation of Macron’s second term.