Fiery France protests lead to cancellation of King Charles visit next week

Protesters angry at French President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms continued with scattered actions on Friday, as the unrest across the country led officials to postpone a planned state visit by King Charles.

Although no major protests were planned on Friday, train traffic was slowed, rows of trucks blocked access to Marseille's commercial port and debris still littered the Paris streets following the previous day's mass demonstrations.

Macron said "common sense and friendship" led to the cancellation of the King's visit. Speaking at a news conference after a summit in Brussels, Macron said: "We would not be serious to make a state visit in the middle of protests."

He also said that proceeding with the visit that had been scheduled to start on Sunday "would have prompted incidents" that would have been "detestable."

He said Charles's visit likely would be rescheduled for the beginning of summer.

Over 450 protesters were arrested in Paris and beyond on Thursday as some 300 demonstrations drew more than a million people nationwide to protest against unpopular pension reforms.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Friday that 441 police and gendarmes were injured as violence marred some marches.

He said that 1,000 trash bins were set on fire in the French capital during the previous day's action. Amid a weeks-long garbagecollectors strike, trash bins have become a symbol of the protest.

Charles had been scheduled to arrive in France on Sunday on his first state visit as monarch, before heading to Germany on Wednesday. The German part of the trip was still going ahead.

Bordeaux city hall building set afire

Unions have called for new protests and strikes on Tuesday, the day King Charles had been scheduled to visit Bordeaux. The heavy wooden door of the elegant Bordeaux city hall was destroyed by fire Thursday night by people taking part in an unauthorized demonstration.

The mayor of Bordeaux, Pierre Hurmic, said Friday he had "difficulty understanding the interest of such acts of vandalism."

The supply of fuel to Paris by the large Gonfreville-L'Orcher refinery in Normandy resumed Friday after police intervened, according to Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher. At the Fos-sur-mer oil terminal near Marseille, however, protesters were meeting to plan future oil refinery blockades.

Fearing disruptions in coming days as actions continue, France's Civil Aviation Authority has requested that a third of flights be cancelled Sunday at Paris's second airport, Orly, with 20 per cent to be cancelled Monday.

The protests have drawn support from beyond France's borders. In Greece, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the French Embassy in Athens on Thursday to show solidarity.

WATCH | Protesters want French government to repeal pension changes:

Pension reform protests in France show no signs of stopping

2 years ago

Duration 2:20

Hundreds of thousands of people continue to demonstrate across France against controversial pension reforms. The protests are largely peaceful, but there have been numerous violent clashes with police.

Macron says the bill to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 is necessary to keep the financial system afloat, as the country spends more on its pension system than Western peers.

The government, which survived a pair of no-confidence votes this week, also says it has negotiated for months with unions and opposition parties to come to a satisfactory agreement on pension reform, but to no avail.