More than 1.3M protested pension reforms in France: Union

PARIS

More than 1.3 million people in France protested controversial pension reforms on Thursday, according to local media citing the General Labor Confederation union.

Workers from all sectors continued to object to reform plans the government announced in January.

The union counted 1.3 million demonstrators, while the Interior Ministry said there were 440,000, said Le Figaro daily.

The union’s figures for Thursday fell sharply from the Feb. 11 and Jan. 31 protests, where it said there were 2.5 million and 2.8 million participants, respectively.

Police in Paris counted 37,000 protesters in the capital, while the union announced 300,000, said Le Figaro.

The reform plans, which have triggered public outrage, include raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 in 2030 and requiring at least 43 years of work to be eligible for full pensions.