The pension reform "will continue its democratic path":
said the French president, Emmanuel Macron, interviewed live on France 2 and TF1.
The motion of censure (no confidence) against the government has "failed".
Now "we have to wait for the pronouncement of the constitutional council".
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We must move forward: it is in the best interests of the nation":
"When the unions demonstrate, they have their legitimacy, when they organize marches, if they do, they are against this reform, I respect them": said the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on live TV, adding, however, that he "does not accept violence when you are unhappy with something".
Protester punched in France police controversy
It is the first time that Macron has addressed the French since the start of the pension reform crisis in January, even if the initiative took the form of a live interview, with the president answering questions from journalists.
Yesterday evening, new incidents and tensions occurred in Paris but also in Rennes, Nantes, Reims, Toulouse, Lyon and many other cities.
And controversy over alleged police violence.
The left, together with lawyers and magistrates, denounced arrests made "with violence" by the police, forcefully demanding the release of demonstrators unduly detained.
In a video that has made the rounds on the web, an officer can be seen punching a protester, who collapses to the ground.
The events took place in rue Saint Antoine, near the Bastille, and the police opened a
France, night of rage and fires, hundreds arrested
Strikes continue in refineries, transport and sanitation, Normandy is today the leading region of the protest with a "dead port" operation in Le Havre with several roadblocks to cancel all port activity.
In the afternoon, after Macron's speech, demonstrations have already been scheduled throughout France, in Paris appointment at 6 pm in the "Stalingrad" area, in Bordeaux 5.30 pm in place de la Victoire, in Strasbourg "barbecue strike" by citizens with the railway workers on strike.
ANSA agency
The pension reform is law, anger explodes in France: clashes and arrests.
Macron expected on TV - World
THE VIDEO - Tensions in Paris and other cities.
Mélenchon protests the arrests: 'Now popular distrust'.
Prime Minister from Macron: 'Determined to continue' (ANSA)
Tension, finally, in anticipation of tomorrow, the ninth day of general mobilization against the reform which seeks to raise the minimum age for leaving work from 62 to 64: between 600,000 and 800,000 demonstrators are expected, 12,000 policemen will be deployed, a record figure since the beginning of the protests.
In Paris, the procession will cut the city in two, from the Bastille to the Opéra,