Who's laughing now, Macron? France is paralyzed by worst nationwide strike for decades, with schools shutting and public transport grinding to a halt, as furious public sector workers protest pension reforms

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More than 800,000 demonstrators marched on cities throughout France today, with railway workers, teachers and hospital staff joining the largest strike in decades.

Authorities in Paris barricaded the presidential palace and deployed some 6,000 police as activists, many in yellow vests, gathered for a major march aimed at forcing President Emmanuel Macron to abandon his pension reform plans. 

Officers were forced to use tear gas to disperse rioters who set fire to a vehicle and smashed windows as tensions heightened close to the Place de la Republique square.

A construction trailer was overturned and set on fire, sending a huge plume of smoke into the sky, as hooded youths lit fires, looted high-end stores and hurled fireworks at officers, reports said.

The disruption comes a day after President Emmanuel Macron was caught mocking Donald Trump behind his back in a hot mic incident with Boris Johnson and Justin Trudeau at the NATO summit in London. 

President Trump cut short his trip to London on Wednesday, branding the Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau 'two-faced' after he joked about the time Trump had taken during a press conference. 

Macron desperately scrambled out of the diplomatic blunder, telling reporters: 'I am not going to comment on stolen videos. That video wasn't supposed to be filmed in that room.'

A protester screams amidst clouds of tear gas as protesters and French Riot Police clash during a rally near Place de la Republique in support of the national strike in France on Thursday, one of the largest nationwide strikes in years

A protester wearing a ski mask hurls a gas canister back towards the police near the Place de la Republique. Officers were forced to use tear gas to disperse rioters who set fire to a vehicle and smashed windows as tensions heightened close to the square

Protesters hold union flags as thousands march through the streets of Paris on Thursday night, despite bitterly cold temperatures 

Police hold their line as protesters launch fireworks at them as demonstrations turn violent during a rally near Place de Republique in support of the national strike in France

Riot police clad in armour and wielding shields and batons move in on demonstrators in Paris on Thursday night as protests continued into the night

A protester hurls a tear gas canister back at officers in Bordeaux on Thursday as demonstrators thronged in the city centre joining hundreds of thousands across the country

Police officers stand next to a fire during a demonstration to protest against the pension overhauls in Paris on Thursday

Police face off with protesters in the French capital on Thursday as firefighters douse a burning building

A man wearing a clown mask waves a smoke bomb as he takes part in a demonstration to protest against the French pension overhauls in Marseille today

A French riot police officer kicks a flare on the ground as demonstrations begin in Bordeaux

Protesters in black were seen throwing flares at windows and setting fire to cars in the capital

At least 90 people were arrested in Paris by evening as the protests wound down.

Police said 65,000 people took to the streets of the French capital, and over 800,000 nationwide in often-tense demonstrations aimed at forcing President Emmanuel Macron to abandon pension reform. 

In Nantes, police responded with tear gas and made arrests when protesters threw projectiles at officers before the rally in western France had begun.   

There were similar scenes in Rennes and Bordeaux, where banks were attacked, and hundreds of rounds of tear gas were used by police.

Transport workers, teachers, postal workers, firefighters, medics and even lawyers were among those who took part in one of the biggest protests of its kind since 1995. 

Schools were closed, flights were grounded and much of the Paris Metro was halted, with chaos expected to continue into Friday.

Dockers march with smoke bombs and hold a banner as they take part in a demonstration in southern France

A demonstrator holds a red smoke grenade aloft during a rally today near the Place de la Republique in the centre of Paris

Protesters hold smoke bombs in the air as they walk through Marseille during protests today

Public and private workers demonstrate and shout slogans during a mass strike in Marseille

A man carries a yellow flag in Marseille, southern France, as protests heightened on Thursday

Crowds wave the flag of the trade union General Confederation of Labour as they march in Marseille

Protesters march during a mass strike in the Old Port of Marseille, southern France

Around 200,000 people marched in several cities ahead of two major demonstrations planned for the capital, where traffic was lighter than usual as many took the day off to avoid the chaos.  

Interior Minister Christopher Castaner had warned that street violence was inevitable. 'We know that there will be a lot of people in the demonstrations and we know the risks,' he said on Wednesday.

'I've asked that systematically, as soon as there is disorder, urban rioting, violence, we can react straight away.' 

The strikes were specifically aimed at President Macron's pension reforms, with 245 rallies authorised for Thursday, including an afternoon march in Paris. 

Men attack the boarded-up shop of a gold buyer during a demonstration against the pension overhauls in Nantes

Firefighters extinguish a container which has been set ablaze on the sideline of a rally in Paris

A demonstrator in a red vest chants slogans near a blaze in Paris as tensions heighten in France

Riot police stand amidst tear gas during clashes at a demonstration against the French government's pension reform plans in Paris on Thursday

A broken electric billboard is seen next to a burning scooter as protesters stand in the street in Paris

Macron himself remained 'calm and determined' to push through the public sector strikes, a presidential source said. 

So-called Yellow Vest protesters mobilised for the mass demonstrations, as well as Black Bloc anarchists.

The Yellow Vests, who are named after their trademark bright yellow jackets, have been behind some of the worst rioting in recent history in France.

They have caused millions of pounds worth of damage to Paris monuments such as the Arc de Triomphe, as well as to the shops, banks, restaurants and cafés on the Champs Elysée.

On Thursday, the Louvre warned of strike disruptions, and Paris hotels struggled to fill rooms as tourists cancelled plans to travel to one of the world's most-visited countries amid the strikes.

Riot police clash with protesters in the street in Paris on Thursday in a major demonstration 

Hooded youths lit fires and looted high-end businesses in the riots on Thursday, reports said

Hundreds of people dressed in all black gather on the streets of Paris as fires are lit and windows are destroyed

People hold placards reading 'one per cent to the woodshed' and 'When will we share wealth'

Tourists who had travelled to the capital found train stations standing empty, with around nine out of 10 high-speed TGV trains cancelled. French rail operator SNCF added it had cancelled 70 per cent of regional trains for Friday.

SNCF said services would 'still be very disrupted' on the second day of the transport strike, with the Eurostar service to Britain and the Thalys service to northern Europe set to be 'very heavily disrupted'.

Signs at the Orly Airport in Paris showed 'cancelled' notices, as the civil aviation authority announced 20 per cent of flights were grounded. 

Air France announced it had axed 30 per cent of domestic flights and 15 per cent of short-haul international routes. 

In Paris, only a few of the 16 metro lines were operating, and service on the heavily used suburban rail lines crossing the city was severely disrupted.

A French SNCF railway worker on strike holds a flare as he walks at Gare du Nord railway station before a demonstration

Protesters hold a sign reading 'Let's Revolt' as thousands marched through the streets of Paris

Many people across the Paris region (pictured) opted to work from home or take a day off to stay with their children, as 78 per cent of teachers in the capital were on strike

Protesters wearing yellow vests attend a demonstration against French government's pensions reform plans in Paris

An older protester holds a sign high in the air in Paris as he takes part in the day of strikes

Balloons are seen in the streets of Paris as thousands flood the capital in major demonstration

The strikes also had an impact away from France, as almost 100 Eurostar trains and buses were cancelled from the UK until Tuesday.

Easyjet, British Airways and Ryanair have also opted to cancel many of their flights to and from France. 

Some travellers showed support for the striking workers, but others complained about being caught up in someone else's fight. 

'I arrived at the airport this morning and I had no idea about the strike happening, and I was waiting for two hours in the airport for the train to arrive and it didn't arrive,' said Ian Crossen, from New York. 'I feel a little bit frustrated. And I've spent a lot of money. I've spent money I didn't need to, apparently.' 

People take part in a demonstration to protest against the pension overhauls, in Montpellier, southern France

It is unknown for how long the strikes will last, but Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne said she expects the travel troubles to be just as bad on Friday 

Air France announced it had axed 30 per cent of domestic flights and 15 per cent of short-haul international routes (Pictured: protesters in Marseille) 

Protesters hold up flares as they demonstrate and shout slogans during a mass strike 

One demonstrator stands on a metro shelter as others block the train lines in Marseille

Vladimir Madeira, a Chilean tourist, said the strike has been 'a nightmare.' He hadn't heard about the protest until he arrived in Paris, and transport disruptions had foiled his plans to travel directly to Zurich on Thursday. 

Beneath the closed Eiffel Tower, tourists from Thailand, Canada and Spain echoed the sentiments. 

Subway stations across Paris were shuttered, complicating traffic - and prompting many commuters to use shared bikes or electric scooters despite near-freezing temperatures. 

Many people across the Paris region opted to work from home or take a day off to stay with their children, as 78 per cent of teachers in the capital were on strike. 

Bracing for possible violence and damage along the route of the Paris march, police ordered all businesses, cafes and restaurants in the area to close. 

Authorities also issued a ban on protests on the Champs-Elysees avenue, around the presidential palace, parliament and Notre Dame Cathedral.  

It is unknown for how long the strikes will last, but Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne said she expects the travel troubles to be just as bad on Friday.

Unions said it's an open-ended movement and hope to keep up momentum for at least a week in hopes of forcing the government to make concessions.

Public sector workers fear Macron's reform will force them to work longer and shrink their pensions. Some private sector workers welcome the reform, but others support the strike.

The General Confederation of Labour - the largest trade union in France - said Macron's pension reforms had triggered mass anger.

A spokesman said: 'We have one of the best retirement systems in the world, if not the best. However, the president of the Republic decided, because of pure ideology, to annihilate it.'

Joseph Kakou, who works an overnight security shift in western Paris, walked an hour across the city to get home to the eastern side of town on Thursday morning.

'It doesn't please us to walk. It doesn't please us to have to strike,' Kakou said. 'But we are obliged to, because we can't work until 90 years old. 

To Macron, the retirement reform is central to his plan to transform France so it can compete globally in the 21st century. The government argues France's 42 retirement systems need streamlining.

Public sector workers fear Macron's reform will force them to work longer and shrink their pensions (Pictured: A demonstration in Perpignan, southern France)

To Macron, the retirement reform is central to his plan to transform France so it can compete globally in the 21st century

Protesters march during a mass stirke in the Old Port of Marseille, southern France

While Macron respects the right to strike, he 'is convinced that the reform is needed, he is committed, that's the project he presented the French in 2017' during his election campaign, a presidential official said. 

After extensive meetings with workers, the high commissioner for pensions is expected to detail reform proposals next week, and the prime minister will release the government's plan days after that.

The independent Macron came to power in 2017, pledging to shrink France's public services, and to make the private sector more competitive.

But Macron is now frequently referred to as the 'President of the Rich', who is said to mainly on the side of big businesses.

A CGT spokesman said: 'Everything about social issues, or about health, is now seen as an expense that needs to be reduced.'

A woman rides a bicycle past the Eiffel tower in Paris as the monument is closed to the public due to a nationwide strike

In Paris, only a few of the 16 metro lines were operating, and service on the heavily used suburban rail lines crossing the city was severely disrupted

An empty railway platform, the morning of a mass strike at the Gare Lille Flandres in Lille, northern France

He said that Mr Macron was not showing enough interest in 'protecting citizens from illness and misery.'

Mr Macron wants to introduce a universal pension system, replacing 42 different schemes currently in place. But the disruption could paralyse the French economy if a resolution is not reached.

A series of public sector general strikes in France in late 1995 saw transportation halted as thousands took to the streets against cuts, including pension reform.

The strikes led to the then conservative President Jacques Chirac and his prime minister Alain Juppé withdrawing their reform plans.