Macron stands firm on controversial pension reform amidst ongoing protests.

French President Emmanuel Macron defends his unpopular pensions reform, which includes raising the retirement age to 64 from 62 and extending contributions, despite protests and strikes. Macron accuses opposition parties of preferring to create more deficits to avoid tough decisions and lashes out at "factions" and "groups that use extreme violence" to challenge the reform. The French government invoked a controversial constitutional maneuver to bypass a parliamentary vote, leading to criticism from trade unions. Despite a hit in popularity ratings, Macron shows no sign of caving to political pressure and plans to follow the parliamentary process.