Police clash with protesters at Paris demonstration against pension overhaul

Demonstrators take cover behind umbrellas as they gather in Nantes to protest after French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne used the article 49.3, a special clause in the French Constitution, to push the pensions reform bill through the National Assembly without a vote by lawmakers, France, March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

PARIS (Reuters) - Riot police clashed with protesters on Friday evening in Paris as a new demonstration took place against the government's plans to raise the French state pension age.

The growing unrest, which has resulted in a wave of strikes since the start of the year and rubbish piling up on the streets of Paris, has left President Emmanuel Macron with the gravest challenge to his authority since the so-called 'Gilets Jaunes' or 'Yellow Vest' protests of December 2018.