French unions battle to keep momentum in pension showdown

Opponents of France's controversial pension reform plan sought to keep up the momentum on a third day of protests and strikes, but the numbers taking to the streets were down on the previous week.

President Emmanuel Macron's bid to raise the retirement age has sparked immense opposition from unions, the left and the wider public, with previous protests on January 19 and 31 sparking mass demonstrations and walkouts.

Implementing the policy in the face of opposition on the street and in parliament is seen as a crunch test of the president's political strength at the start of his second and final mandate in power up to 2027.

But turnout was trending downwards with the hardline CGT union saying almost two million people protested nationwide compared with its estimate of 2.8 million last week.

It said 400,000 people were protesting in Paris compared with 500,000 on January 31 and 400,000 on January 19.

The interior ministry said police counted 757,000 people protesting across France, also fewer than previously.

There were isolated clashes in some cities, including Nantes, Paris and Rennes, with police using tear gas against protesters.

Police said that 17 people were arrested in Paris, where bins were set alight, the fronts of McDonald's restaurants smashed as well as glass bottles and other projectiles thrown.