Pension Protesters Sing La Marseillaise as Fire Burns in Central Paris

Protesters sang the French national anthem around a bonfire burning in the Place de la Republique in Paris on December 5 as a general strike against pension reforms paralyzed France.

More than 800,000 people took part in demonstrations across France, according to interior ministry figures, though other estimates quoted by the French press put the figure at 1.5 million.

The strike was against President Emmanuel Macron’s proposed pension reforms, which would replace the country’s many public and private schemes with a national points-based model.

Police in Paris said at least 90 people had been arrested by Thursday evening. Credit: Kilian Le Bouquin via Storyful