President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday he hoped nationwide protests gripping France over his controversial pension reform drive would take place without descending into violence.
Speaking after a Franco-Spanish summit in Barcelona, Macron defended the proposed changes as "fair and responsible".
But he said he hoped the demonstrations would take place "without excesses, violence or destruction," insisting the deeply unpopular reform was "democratically proposed and approved".
And he stressed the "determination" of his government to ensure the reform was implemented in a way that was "above all, fair and responsible".
The demonstrations were called by France's trade unions after Macron's government unveiled plans last week to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Polls suggest the move is opposed by about two-thirds of the public.
Amid warnings of a "hellish" day of protest, and fears the demonstrations could turn ugly, the government has deployed 10,000 police officers across the country, more than a third of them in the capital.
"I trust that the organisers of these demonstrations will ensure these legitimate expressions of opposition can take place without too many inconveniences for our fellow citizens and obviously without excesses, violence or destruction," Macron said.
Organisers are hoping the mass mobilisation will force the government to back down. Tens of thousands of people have turned out to protest and strikes have disrupted public transport and shuttered schools across the country.
Macron's last attempt to push through a pension reform in 2019, which was frozen during the Covid pandemic, prompted Paris' longest transport strike in decades.
The French leader said the need for pension reform had been clearly laid out months ago and the plans had been "democratically proposed and approved".
The changes would take place, he insisted.
"We will do it -- with respect and in a spirit of dialogue, but with determination and a spirit of responsibility."
