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Paris,April 4, (dpa/GNA) – More than 1,000 police and firefighters have been injured in protests and riots across France, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told local media on Sunday.
France has been gripped by strikes and protests after President Emmanuel Macron and the government, pushed through plans to increase the pension age to 64 from 62.
Darmanin told French newspaper Journal du Dimanche (JDD) that 1,093 police officers and firefighters had been injured since the protests broke out in March. There had also been 2,579 incidents of arson and 316 attacks on public buildings, he told the weekly newspaper which is published on Sundays.
He did not provide figures on injured demonstrators, but said 36 officers were being investigated on suspicion of excessive use of force.
Darmanin rejected accusations that police officers had been aggressive against protesters and had used disproportionate force.
The right to demonstrate does not include the right to use violence, he said.
Law enforcement needed to intervene when the otherwise peaceful protests turned violent, Darmanin said.
The protests, which had been peaceful for many weeks, turned violent on March 16 when the government, pushed through the controversial reform without a vote in parliament. The Constitutional Council is still reviewing the reform.
Trade unions have called for a 10th nationwide day of strikes and protests on Thursday, with the government showing no signs of major concessions to the reform.
Strikes continue to disrupt public life. Air traffic and the supply of fuel to petrol stations are affected in some places.
GNA
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