Protesters clashed with police again in central Paris against the French government’s pension reforms.
Thousands of protesters lit fires and some threw firecrackers at police, who used tear gas to disperse them.
It is the second night of unrest since President Emmanuel Macron decided without a vote to push through controversial reforms to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
In response, a no-confidence motion has been filed against his government.
The first was signed by members of the independent and left-wing Nups coalition in parliament, while the other came from the far-right National Rally party.
Both are expected to be discussed early next week.
Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Rally MPs in parliament, called the decision to change the pension a “complete failure of government”.
Police made dozens of arrests during the unrest in the Place de la Concorde, not far from the parliament building.
Demonstrations also took place in other French cities on Friday, notably Bordeaux, Toulon and Strasbourg.
“We will not give up,” one protester told JEE News. “There is still hope that the reforms can be repealed.”
Another told JEE News that moving the legislation forward without a vote was “a denial of democracy … a total denial of what has been happening on the streets for weeks.”
The government has said the pension changes are necessary to ensure the system is not overburdened and prevent it from collapsing.
But many, including union members, disagree, and France has now seen more than two months of heated political debate and strikes over the issue.
Transport, public services and schools have all been affected, while walkouts by waste collectors have left thousands of tonnes of rubbish littering the capital’s streets.
Fuel shipments have also been halted and production at a major refinery in Normandy is planned to stop in the coming days.
“Changing the government or the prime minister will not put out this fire, it will only roll back the reforms,” said Laurent Berger, head of the moderate CFDT union.
