GANGES, FRANCE (AP) – Hundreds of people opposed to the law raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 gathered yesterday in a small town in southern France ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s planned visit, while some other scattered protest actions were staged across France.
Macron’s trip to the town of Ganges comes amid a concerted new effort by him and his government to move on from the furor caused by the pension change.
People could be heard singing what has become the anthem of the retirement protests: “We are here, we are here, even if Macron doesn’t want (us to be here), we are here.”
The French president was to meet teachers and students at a school, where he was scheduled to promote his education policies.
Dozens of police officers were deployed to prevent the crowd from getting close to the school and used tear gas to disperse people when some tried to storm the barriers.
