The strikes, called by several unions, impacted regional and suburban services in Paris. In Lyon, over a hundred railway workers demonstrated, while some protesters in Lille walked along the railway line, blocking train traffic for an hour before leaving peacefully.

The Sud-Rail union representative said that protesters were determined to stop the reforms and had planned a demonstration on May 1st, International Workers' Day.

President Macron visited a middle school in Ganges to promote his education policies, but the site was affected by a power cut that the local CGT union said was a protest action.

Dozens of police officers were deployed to prevent the crowd from getting close to the school, and tear gas was used briefly to disperse some people who tried to storm the barriers.

Macron enacted the pension reform legislation using special government powers in March, which has sparked months of protests across France. (ILKHA)