Dozens of people were arrested across France after protests broke out hours after President Emmanuel Macron's government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in parliament on Monday over a fiercely unpopular pension reform.

Had the vote succeeded, it would have sunk Macron's government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.

Macron will be relieved, for now, and is set to give a televised interview on Wednesday as the 45-year-old seeks to calm public anger over the reform and quell the spiraling protests and strikes.

But there was more fury on Monday night as protesters took to the streets in cities across France, with opposition lawmakers vowing to force a U-turn and unions prepared for nationwide action on Thursday.

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In some of central Paris's most prestigious avenues, firefighters battled blazes in piles of rubbish left uncollected for days due to strikes as groups of protesters fought with police for a fifth night. There were another 234 arrests in the capital during tense standoffs between protesters and security forces, a police source said.

Violent protests also took place in eastern cities Dijon and Strasbourg overnight, while protesters blocked a motorway in southeast France on Tuesday and continued to disrupt traffic around the northern port of Le Havre.

"The reform is adopted but it is not seen as legitimate in the eyes of French people," political scientist Jerome Jaffre told France Inter radio. "That's a source of problems, of bitterness, and it's far from being resolved."

What may concern the executive is the large number of young people in the demonstrations.

Talks and ratings

Macron will hold talks later on Tuesday with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, the heads of both houses of parliament and lawmakers in his political camp as he seeks to plot an exit to the political crisis.

A survey on Sunday showed the president's personal rating at its lowest level since the height of a the anti-government Yellow Vest protest movement in 2019, with only 28 percent of respondents having a positive view of him.

The key question in coming days will be whether Macron sticks with his existing government as he looks to freshen things up, even if the potential paralysis in parliament will make governing more complicated.

"Nothing is resolved and everything in the country continues so that this reform is withdrawn," Mathilde Panot, the parliamentary chief of the far-left La France Insoumise said.

Police fired tear gas and charged at protesters in several towns with special motorbike officers seen striking out at protesters. 

That prompted the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Association, Clément Voule, to say on Twitter that police should avoid using excessive force.

The vote on the tripartisan, no-confidence motion was closer than expected. Some 278 members of parliament backed it, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed.

"We are coming to the end of the democratic process of this essential reform for our country," Prime Minister Borne said. "It is with humility and seriousness that I took my responsibility and that of my government."

Opponents say this shows Macron's decision to bypass a parliamentary vote on the pension bill – which triggered the no-confidence motions – has already undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership.

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