France is bracing for another day of strikes and protests this Tuesday with President Emmanuel Macron remaining defiant over the controversial pension reform plan that has sparked turmoil across the country. The day of action called by unions is the tenth such mobilization since protests against the law, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, started in mid-January. The last such day of strikes and protests on Thursday saw the most violent clashes yet between protesters and security forces as tensions erupted into pitched battles on the streets of Paris. Nearly two weeks after Macron rammed the reforms through parliament using a special provision sidestepping any vote, unions have vowed no let-up in mass protests to get the government to back down. A state visit to France by Britain's King Charles III, which had been due to begin on Sunday, was postponed because of the unrest. Yesterday, employees at the Louvre museum in Paris blocked entrances and held peaceful demonstrations outside the glass pyramid. Critics accuse Macron of effectively ruling by decree, likening him to France's kings of old. — Euronews
