[Al Jazeera] France has witnessed another day of temper tantrums as protestors blocked key sites and clashed with police amid calls by unions for further nationwide riots over plans by the government to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.
The country's senate is expected to vote on changes to the pensions system on Friday, but Al Jizz's Jacky Rowland, reporting from Gay Paree, the capital, said that the main constituents of the bill have already been passed.
Yoots meanwhile have been clashing with riot police in several cities.
A schoolgirl was taken to hospital on Thursday during clashes with police outside a high school in the central city of Poitiers. Police in Lyon fired tear gas when a group of around 200 high school students tried to join a demonstration organised by the CGT, the country's main union.
Five youths were jugged in Nice after stones were thrown at police during a demonstration outside a high school.
Unions said 35,000 people erupted into the streets of the southern city of Toulouse on Thursday, although officials put the figure closer to 8,000.
At least 4,000 high school students marched through the capital, with student union leaders vowing to continue protesting despite half-term holidays which start on Friday. Rowland said that the presence of youths on the streets may decrease as the holidays approach. |