LOC20:07
17:07 GMT
PARIS, Dec 5 (KUNA) -- Riot police fired tear gas at certain protesters in the massive rally that brought together striking workers from across the French public sector Thursday in a protest against plans to reform the retirement system.
Security forces said that the otherwise-peaceful protest has been infiltrated by groups of anarchists, known as "Black Blocs," who broke windows and set vehicles on fire, prompting police intervention, France 24 reported.
Earlier in the day, riot police also clashed with other "Black Blocs" groups in Bordeaux, Nantes and Rennes, and some damage to property was reported.
The French Prefectures said that around 250,000 people took to the streets to protest in French cities, excluding the protest in Paris where figures for the number of protesters were still not revealed.
Union organisers said that the Prefecture numbers undervalued the size of the protests.
In Paris, the huge march was destined to end in the Nation district and a huge police presence was visible to prevent violence at the end of Thursday's rally. The clashes erupted about half-way in the march, just near the Republic Square.
The strike practically shut down public transport, which was only running at around 10 percent for trains, 20-30 percent for regional services and practically nil for inter-regional rail services.
In addition, buses were running at less than 30 percent and Air France said it had cancelled over 20 percent of flights.
Fifty-percent of school teachers were, on average, on strike and hospital and energy-sector workers also joined the protest against retirement reform and extending the working life of certain employees.
Six out of seven French refineries were blocked and no fuel was allowed to leave on Thursday, although the refineries were still operating, France Info TV reported.
Even the Eiffel Tower personnel downed tools on Thursday, closing one of the most popular tourist attractions to the public.
Many "Yellow Vest" protesters, who have been calling for social reforms for over a year now, also joined demonstrations throughout France.
At the outset, all the unions at the public transport companies - SNCF for trains, and RATP for Paris regional transport - said their work stoppage was "unlimited" and they kept their word Thursday afternoon by declaring the strike will continue until Monday, at any rate. (pickup previous)
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