Weeks of strikes, protests and demonstrations have brought much of France to a standstill as workers, students and others voice their strong opposition to a government proposal to raise the age for a minimum pension from 60 to 62. A quarter of the nation's gas stations were out of fuel, hundreds of flights were canceled, long lines formed at gas stations and train services in many regions were cut in half. Protesters blockaded Marseille's airport, Lady Gaga canceled concerts in Paris and rioting youths attacked police in Lyon. Collected here are recent images of the unrest around France.
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Aerial view of Tankers and other vessels waiting off shore near Marseille's port in Martigues on October 17, 2010, where two oil terminals are blocked by strike action. (ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images)
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| Workers demonstrate in front of the Senate on October 20, 2010 in Paris, France. President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age to 62 has prompted Oil workers to protest crippling the transport system and triggering gas shortages. Students are also attending demonstrations and have in some cases barricaded entrances to schools. (Franck Prevel/Getty Images) |
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| Arcelor Mittal steel workers dressed in protective work suit demonstrate over pension reforms in Marseille October 12, 2010. (REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier) |
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| People demonstrate on October 12, 2010 in Paris, to protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to up the retirement age to 62. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images) |
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| High school students shout slogans as striking railway workers burn railway tracks during a demonstration at the old port of Marseille October 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier) |
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Passengers wait for a train on a platform at the Gare du Nord railway station in Paris October 19, 2010 during a nationwide strike by public sector workers to protest against pension reform. Airport staff, bus and train drivers, postal workers and the armored truck drivers who keep cash machines stocked up could join refinery workers and others in a day of nationwide strikes against the plan to raise the retirement age. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes)
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French police secure an entrance at Orly airport, south of Paris, as striking airport workers blocked the access to roads October 20, 2010. (REUTERS/Guillaume Bertrand)
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French police take position during clashes with youths after a demonstration over pension reform in Lyon, October 19, 2010. (REUTERS/Robert Pratta)
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High school students shout during a demonstration against retirement reforms in Paris, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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| French high school students kiss on the road in front of the police at the end of a demonstration over pension reform in Paris October 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes) |
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| Youths overturn a car in a street in Lyon, central France, Thursday Oct.21, 2010. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani) |
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Riot police officers detain a youth during clashes in Lyon, central France, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
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| A demonstrator holds a flare aloft as private and public sector workers demonstrate over pension reforms in Nice October 19, 2010. (REUTERS/Eric Gaillard) |
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| Riot policemen push demonstrators who blocked the fuel storage depot of Douchy-Les-Mines, northern France, to protest against French government pensions reform on October 19, 2010. (FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP/Getty Images) |
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| A nurse denounces the anticipated 67-year-old age for retirement during a workers and students demonstration ending at Place de la Bastille on October 12, 2010 in Paris, as part of a nationwide action to protest against the government reform bill on pensions. (JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images) |
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| A child holds a banner on the shoulders of a man during a demonstration in Lyon, central France, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani) |
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| French Youth run from riot police forces during clashes on October 20, 2010 on the sideline of anti pensions reform protests in Lyon. (PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty Images) |
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| A French high school student faces riot gendarmes during a student demonstration at the Place de la Republique in Paris October 19, 2010. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes) |
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| Riot police officers detain a youth during a student demonstration in Lyon, central France, Monday, Oct.18, 2010. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani) |
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| A fireman tries to extinguish a burning car during riots in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, on October 20, 2010. (Franck Prevel/Getty Images) |
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A woman walks past a message written on a road saying "Tous en greve" (everybody on strike) as part of the demonstrations by railway workers from state-run company SNCF during the nationwide day of protest against pension reform on October 13, 2010 in Chenove, eastern France. (JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images)
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