France, Jan. 20 -- The French government is pressingahead with its unpopular pensions reform despite huge strikes and protests that paralysed much of the country on Thursday, bringing more than a million people onto the streets. The government says its changes to retirement rules are critical, but unions argue low-income earners will be disproportionatelyhurtby a reform that is"grossly unfair".

The Interior Ministry put thenumber of protesters marching against President Emmanuel Macron's pensions project at 1.2 million, including 80,000 in Paris.

The hard-left CGT union said there had been more than two million people at protests across France, and 400,000 in the capital alone.

Strikes disrupted public transport, schools and much of th...