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 Protests against changes to France’s pension system brought parts of France to a halt on Thursday, with nationwide strikes shutting down transportation,  leaving schools and hospitals deserted by staff and basic government services unmet.

Huge crowds of railway workers, teachers, students, hospital workers and other protesters peacefully marched down Paris’s wide Boulevard Magenta leaving commuters struggling to find ways to get to work and school.

Some violent protesters burned vehicles and threw projectiles at the police while officers fired tear gas.

The protests are to register opposition to the proposed changes pushed by President Emmanuel Macron. He wants to get rid of France’s 42 different retirement schemes and replace them with one program managed by the state. Protesters believe the new program would lower their pension.