France Protests: Bordeaux Town Hall Set On Fire

Bordeaux town hall has been set on fire as French protests continued over plans to raise the pension age.

More than a million people took to the streets across France on Thursday, with 119,000 in Paris, according to figures from the interior ministry.

“Police fired tear gas at protesters in the capital and 80 people were arrested across the country.”

The demonstrations were sparked by legislation raising the retirement age by two years to 64.

“Fire engulfed the front door of the town hall in the southwest city of Bordeaux on Thursday evening after a day of protests and clashes.”

It was not clear who was responsible for the blaze, which was quickly put out by firefighters.

In Paris, generally, peaceful demonstrations saw “occasional police clashes with masked rioters who smashed shop windows, demolished street furniture and attacked a McDonald’s restaurant.” Reports said.

One police officer who lost consciousness was dragged to safety by fellow officers.

Police used tear gas and were pelted by objects and fireworks, AP news agency reported, with 33 people arrested in the capital.

“I oppose this reform and I really oppose the fact that democracy no longer means anything,” a demonstrator told Reuters. “We’re not being represented, and so we’re fed up.”

“It is by protesting that we will be able to make ourselves heard because all the other ways… have not allowed us to withdraw this reform,” another told AFP news agency.

The protests also disrupted train travel, oil refineries and saw teachers and workers at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport walk out of work.

BBC /Shakirat Sadiq