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Pension demonstrations in France trigger Foreign Office warning

Government
Will Payne
17 March 2023

Brits travelling to France have been warned large scale demonstrations "could turn violent" after pension reforms passed without a vote saw the French retirement age rise from 62 to 64.

Atout France

Paris topped Euromonitor's index (Credit: Chris Karidis / Unsplash)

The demonstrations started on 16 March in central Paris and elsewhere in the country, causing police presence to increase.

The UK Foreign Office advised the protests could turn violent and/or continue, and could lead to disruptions to road travel.

Several unions also called for rolling cross-sector strike action from 7 March, with coordinated cross-sector action planned on 23 March.

Industrial action may start the evening before the strike day and run for several days, but localised or sector-specific strikes could occur outside these dates. Industrialised action may lead to disruption to services.