Striking unions battle Macron in pensions showdown
*PLEASE NOTE THIS UPDATED EDIT CONTAINS NEW PICTURES FROM PARIS, LYON AND NANTES*
Transport misery for French commuters on Thursday (December 5), as nationwide strikes against planned pension reforms took hold.
Thousands of railway workers, teachers and emergency room medics walked out of work...and onto the streets in protest.
According to BFM news channel, police fired tear gas at demonstrators in Nantes.
In Lyon, banners reading ''Macron get lost" and "Don't touch our pensions" were on display.
And in Paris, the transport network ground to a near halt and the Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors.
President Emmanuel Macron wants to simplify France's unwieldy pension system, which comprises more than 40 different plans, many with different retirement ages and benefits.
He says the system is unfair and too costly.
And is angling for a single, points-based system under which for each euro contributed, every pensioner has equal rights.
But hard-left unions want to force Macron to abandon the overhaul by crippling transport networks, closing schools and leaving garbage piled high.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) BUTCHER, FREDERIC DEROUBAIX, SAYING:
"For a few years now I've been thinking that we won't get much for our pensions - they'll get later and later and the amount will get smaller and smaller. Retired people today have a very bad deal - for me, it shows that there's no respect for elderly people, there's no respect when I see some retired people with money troubles at the end of the month. I find this undignified."
The SNCF state railway says only one in 10 commuter and high-speed TGV trains will run and Eurostar and Thalys have canceled at least half of their services linking Paris with London and Brussels.
Transport unions have set no end-date for the strike - which is one of the biggest public sector actions in decades.
