More pension demonstrations break out in France as street violence increases

The 10th day of nationwide demonstrations against French President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms saw 740,000 protesters join 240 rallies held throughout France on Tuesday, with more than 93,000 demonstrators filling the streets of the capital alone. The number of demonstrators is short of the record-breaking protest on March 7, which saw nearly 1.3 million people take to the streets, according to police figures. The protests have paralyzed major services across the country in recent weeks over Macron's proposal to raise the retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64, in a move that has riled opposition lawmakers and trade unions. Smoke bombs were let off at Biarritz airport, and protesters walked on the train tracks at Paris' Gare de Lyon railway station. The CGT union said earlier that trash collectors will suspend their strike from Wednesday.

France continues to welcome tourists and "life goes on as normal" despite strikes and protests. King Charles III and the Queen Consort's state visit to France had been postponed as a result of the strikes.
Anti-pension reform protesters have been blocking airports nationwide, with terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle airport, just north of Paris, also being cut off on Thursday morning. At least four groups can be identified in the footage based on their insignia, including a local Basque trade union and two national associations – the CGT Departmental Union of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Fédération syndicale unitaire (FSU). The FSU is one of France's main trade unions in its education sector, representing "162,000 members, of whom 88% are teachers." The CGT is one of five major trade unions nationwide, with branches across the country. CNN has attempted to contact both the FSU and CGT and cannot independently confirm how many people were present at the airport protest or how the event unfolded. Union leaders have called on President Macron to put the controversial pension reform on hold, as clashes between police and protesters ramped up against a backdrop of rising street violence. Protests have become more violent since Macron rammed the legislation through the French National Assembly.
Security forces threw stun grenades in an effort to disperse protests in Paris on Tuesday, as demonstrators retaliated with fireworks. In the last fortnight, there have been hundreds of acts of vandalism against public buildings and political offices, as well as over 2,000 incidents of arson. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that there are currently 17 investigations by the General Inspectorate of the National Police that concern the pension reform demonstrations. French authorities deployed an unprecedented 13,000 police officers across the country on Tuesday, including 5,500 officers in the capital Paris. The French Defender of Rights called for a "de-escalation" in the violence on the part of police and protesters. Claire Hédon, the Defender of Rights, said that the freedom to demonstrate is a fundamental principle of the rule of law, and that the use of force can only be done if necessary, and in a proportionate manner.