President Emmanuel Macron said he had "no regrets" about pushing through plans to raise France's pension age, vowing that the new law would come into force later this year despite escalating protests across the country.

"Do you think I enjoy doing this (pension) reform? No," Macron said in an interview shown on France's two biggest TV stations. "But there are not a hundred ways to balance the accounts ... this reform is necessary," he added.

The new legislation, which will increase the retirement age by two years to 64, has led to strikes organized by France's powerful unions as well as huge protests since the start of the year. Most had been peaceful until last week, when Macron's party, fearing they did not have the numbers, used special constitutional powers to push the bill through parliament without a vote. 

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In response, opposition parties tabled two no-confidence votes against the government, which it only narrowly survived. Since Macron forced through the bill, fierce demonstrations have broken out across the country, with police using water cannon, tear gas and and stun grenades during increasingly violent standoffs with protesters.

Activists on Wednesday blocked train stations in the southern cities of Nice and Toulouse.

The latest wave of protests, alongside ongoing strikes that have disrupted the transport industry, oil depots, and garbage collection, are considered to be the strongest challenge to the centrist president's authority since the "Yellow Vest" protests four years ago.

French police reported more than 140 injured among their ranks since March 7. Demonstrators in turn have detailed a marked increase in the use of violent tactics from law enforcement in the last week. 

Macron said on Wednesday he respected the right to peaceful protests but "extreme violence" was not acceptable.

"We'll make sure a life that is as normal as possible can resume in the face of the few that block things," he added in his TV appearance. 

Polls show a majority of French voters are opposed to the pension bill and the measures used to force it through parliament without a vote. Macron's aides had said ahead of the interview that it was aimed at "calming things down," with the president saying he wanted to improve his increasingly poor relationship with labor unions.

However, initial reactions appeared to show the opposite.

"Lies!," Laurent Berger, head of the CFDT, France's largest union, tweeted, accusing Macron of "rewriting history," stating that unions had not been offered an alternative to the pension bill.

Philippe Martinez, who leads the more radical CGT union, told French media that Macron was making fun of workers with the "outlandish" interview. Unions have announced another countrywide day of strikes and demonstrations for Thursday.

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