Although the protests that were held throughout about 200 French cities and towns against the pension reform to gradually increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 were peaceful in overall, occasional clashes broke out between police and some radical groups. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the groups in some parts of the capital, Paris, including Les Invalides, where Napoleon’s tomb is located, and detained 30 demonstrators.
While the French Ministry of Interior announced that a total of 1.27 million people participated in the protests across the country, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) stated that 2.8 million people supported the demonstrations. French police, on the other hand, said that between 80,000 and 87,000 people attended the demonstrations in Paris.