"French Unions Plan Strike Over Macron's Retirement-Age Hike"

Protests have erupted across several French cities after President Emmanuel Macron’s government forced through a contentious pension bill without a key Parliament vote, escalating a long-brewing crisis. The pension law, which raises the minimum retirement age by two years to 64, has roiled the European nation. Macron has insisted that the age hike is necessary to guarantee the survival of France’s generous pension system, but millions have taken to the streets, while strikes shut down schools and public transit and mounds of trash have collected on the streets.