This is the latest day of mass action against changes that raise the state pension age from 62 to 64. Trade unions want them withdrawn. In April, French President Emmanuel Macron, despite severe protests across the country, signed a pension bill into law to raise the country s retirement age by two years, Al Jazeera reported. May Day Protests in France: More Than 100 Policemen Injured in Labour Day Clashes in Paris Over Pension Law Changes (Watch Video).