Protests again grip France but Macron not backing down

By JOHN LEICESTER and OLEG CETINIC
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Protesters have disrupted vehicle traffic at Paris’ main airport and marched in their thousands again in other French cities in another nationwide push with strikes and demonstrations to get President Emmanuel Macron to scrap contested pension reforms. Macron’s drive to raise the national retirement age from 62 to 64 has ignited a monthslong firestorm of public anger. Ten previous rounds of nationwide strikes and protests since January have failed to get Macron to change course. Talks between trade union leaders and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne quickly broke up Wednesday, setting the stage for more upheaval on the streets on Thursday. In Paris, rat catchers set the tone by hurling the cadavers of rodents at City Hall.