Most of France's trains are expected to stand idle, schools closed and the tourists have been warned not to visit the Eiffel Tower as French unions are holding mass rallies to protest the government's pension reform.
The authorities of Paris have deployed some 6,000 police in the city as the biggest rally is taking place in the French capital.
#SputnikPhotos | Tout est prêt pour le départ de la marche contre la #RéformeDesRetraiteshttps://t.co/ScbKeYMmrY#GreveGenerale #greve5decembre pic.twitter.com/Zb3F4QL1Wf
— Sputnik France (@sputnik_fr) 5 декабря 2019 г.
A broad range of workers started the rally from the Gare de l'Est station and are expected to end it at the Place de la Nation square at the edge of the 11th and 12th districts. According to recent information, 65 protesters have been arrested so far.
#GrèveDu5Décembre: les couloirs du métro de Paris complètement vides ce matin. Voici les images de Saint-Lazarehttps://t.co/1IfKrHnzD7#GreveGenerale #RATP pic.twitter.com/hRNE2tvnEt
— Sputnik France (@sputnik_fr) 5 декабря 2019 г.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that Police had cordoned off the Elysee Palace and several adjacent residential blocks with metal barriers.
🔴 #EnDirect | Un #BlackBloc se forme à #Paris en marge de la manifestation du #5décembre
— Sputnik France (@sputnik_fr) 5 декабря 2019 г.
▶️ https://t.co/3f0klmU1Do pic.twitter.com/GmLqoAkdSM
France has one of the most generous pension systems in the world with 42 retirement plans for separate categories of workers and one of the world's lowest old-age poverty rates.
But the pension system is also in an over $18 billion deficit. The idea behind the reform is to cancel the profession-based retirement plans and replace them with a unified points-based system for each individual worker regardless of industry.
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