French President Emmanuel Macron has provoked intensified protests on Friday after his controversial pension reform law that raises retirement age to 64 was passed in the legislature through a special constitutional power instead of vote by members of parliament.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced the move amid jeers and boos from opposition MPs who were reluctant to support the bill.

On Thursday, thousands gathered outside parliament to protest the government’s move.

At around 8 p.m., police used tear gas and water cannon to clear protesters after a fire was lit in the centre of the historic Place de la Concorde.

Even after the rally was dispersed, some protesters started fires and caused damage to shop fronts on side streets, according to Agence France-Presse reporters.

By 11:30 p.m., Paris police said 217 people had been arrested on suspicion of seeking to cause damage.

Several stores were looted during protests in Marseille while clashes between protesters and security forces also erupted in the western cities of Nantes and Rennes as well as Lyon in the southeast, according to AFP correspondents.

According to polls, two-thirds of French people want to keep the retirement age at 62.

Unions immediately called for another day of mass strikes and protests for next Thursday, calling the government’s move “a complete denial of democracy.”

WITH AFP