Photos: Protesters march across France against Macron and his pension bill

Fresh strikes and protests roiled France on Tuesday with a record number of police deployed, as President Emmanuel Macron remained defiant over a pensions reform that is sparking turmoil in the country.

Masked protesters stand in front of a burning car during clashes at a demonstration against French government's pension reform in Nantes, France. The day of action is the tenth since protests began in mid-January against the law, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Last Thursday saw the most violent clashes yet between protesters and security forces, as tensions erupted into pitched battles on the streets of Paris and police reported 457 arrests across France and injuries to 441 officers.

Protesters protect themselves behind a makeshit shield during clashes .Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 13,000 members of the security forces would be deployed on Tuesday - 5,500 of them in Paris alone. The number, a record, was justified by “a major risk to public order”.

Nearly two weeks after Macron rammed the new pensions law through parliament using a special provision sidestepping a vote in the lower house, unions have vowed no let-up in mass protests to get the government to back down.

A woman with her eye painted with red makeup to denounce police violence holds a French labour union flag during a demonstration as part of the tenth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government's pension reform in Nice, France.

A state visit to France by Britain’s King Charles III, which had been due to begin on Sunday, was postponed because of the unrest.

A protester dressed as a banker take part in a demonstration in Paris on March 28, 2023.

“We need to continue to hold out a hand to the unions,” a participant in the meeting quoted Macron as saying, although the president rejected any revision of the pensions law.

In a conciliatory gesture, Borne has scheduled talks over three weeks with members of parliament, political parties and local authorities, while still hoping to meet union leaders.

The protest movement against the pension reform has turned into the biggest domestic crisis of Macron’s second mandate.

Up to 900,000 people were expected to protest nationwide Tuesday, a police source said, including 100,000 in Paris.