Demonstration against pension reform plan continues in France

Some 368,000 people demonstrated across France on Saturday against the government's pension reform plan, the French Ministry of the Interior said.

The number of demonstrators was lower than expected. France's largest union the General Confederation of Labor (CGT in French) had predicted that up to one million would take part in the demonstration nationwide.

The railway service in France was "heavily" disrupted, according to the French national railway company SNCF. However, metros and other public transport in the Ile-de-France region where the French capital Paris is located were running as scheduled.

According to French local media, the French Senate may proceed to vote on the pension reform plan after days of debates. If the plan is approved by the Senate, next week it would be once again sent to the French National Assembly where the government may turn to a special article of the Constitution to pass the bill without a vote.

Some 1.28 million people protested across France on Tuesday against the government's pension reform plan, the French Ministry of the Interior said.

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•  The French Senate has approved President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular pension reform plan as hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied in cities across the country to oppose the changes.

Senators voted late on Saturday to adopt the reforms by 195 votes to 112, bringing the package — whose key measure is raising the retirement age by two years to 64 — closer to becoming law.