PARIS - Hundreds of thousands of striking workers protested across France on Thursday against the rising cost of living following weeks of youth-led demonstrations, with police firing tear gas as clashes broke out in some cities.
The marches come as the eurozone's second-largest economy battles to redress its dire finances, six months ahead of elections to replace President Emmanuel Macron, with the far right leading in the opinion polls.
While the CGT union put Thursday's turnout at 1.6 million across France, the interior ministry said 575,000 people had taken part, revising an earlier estimate of 600,000 downwards. It said 60,000 had marched in Paris.
As of 6:00 pm (1700 GMT), 448 people had been arrested and 53 officers had been injured in clashes with protesters, the statement added.
"The question today is not whether we're going to win" but rather "how much we're going to win", CGT union leader Sophie Binet told the Paris rally.
The strike comes on the back of a wave of student anger that has swept across the continent, with young people from Germany and Spain to Greece and Italy following suit with similar protests in recent weeks.
Unions are calling for across-the-board wage raises and tax reforms, while complaining about police restrictions on certain protests.
Although Thursday's marches were largely peaceful, skirmishes between protesters and police broke out in some cities including Lyon, where at least one vehicle was torched and tear gas was fired.
- AFP