Protests and strikes in France against the government's pension reforms are ongoing, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets across the country. President Emmanuel Macron's government passed legislation to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, which has sparked outrage among the public. While the protests have been largely peaceful, there have been some clashes with riot police and allegations of police abuse. The crisis is less about economic figures and more about the state of the country, and there is a feeling of political paralysis. The government is inviting unions to talks, but there are differences in what each side wants to discuss, leaving the opposition movement still strong and no clear way out of the standoff.
