"According to the figures given to me by the prefects, 24,000 people took to the streets yesterday in France — in Paris, Provence and other regions. About 60 arrests were carried out, but the situation was much less tense than in previous weeks," Darmanin said on air of the LCI broadcaster.
He also noted that the police would not interrupt any further spontaneous demonstrations since freedom of assembly, "whatever the cause," is enshrined in the French constitution.
"However, the police cannot allow aggressive manifestations - with arson of garbage, damage to buildings … unacceptable things happened in Lyon yesterday, when a building was set on fire," the minister said.
On Monday, Macron admitted in a televised speech that the reform was clearly not accepted by society and he regretted that "a consensus on it was not found." In Paris, activists staged a "concert" at the city hall, banging pots and spoons against each other in protest against the president's speech. In Paris, Lyon, Rennes, Nantes and a number of other cities, demonstrations turned into spontaneous riots, which were dispersed with tear gas by law enforcement. In Lyon, protesters also set on fire the entrance to the police station.
On Friday, the French Constitutional Council approved the key article of the pension reform bill, which would gradually raise the age of retirement in France from 62 to 64 years by 2030. Macron then signed the reform into law and it was published in France’s Official Journal (Le Journal Officiel) in the early hours of Saturday.
French unions called on workers to go on a general nationwide strike against the reform on May 1, according to the General Confederation of Labour. Several previous nationwide protests organized by unions attracted over 1 million supporters across France.