France needs healing period, PM says, without offering tonic

Protesters hold flags of French labour unions as they walk on a country road in Beauvoir towards the Mont Saint-Michel to block the access to the renowned tourist site during a demonstration against French government's pension reform, in the French western region of Normandy, France, April 7, 2023. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

PARIS (Reuters) - France needs to "go through a healing period" after weeks of sometimes violent street protests against plans to raise the retirement age, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said, though she offered no clear path out of the political turmoil.

The protests, which began as a trade union-led movement against President Emmanuel Macron's contested pension reform, has coalesced widespread anger against Macron himself after he avoided putting the legislation to a final vote in parliament.