Many workers hoped to return to work on Friday. Some commuters opted to hire bicycles and scooters and others took their cars. This led to large traffic jams in French cities. There were nearly 300 kilometers of traffic jams in the Paris region.

90% of high-speed trains and 70% of regional trains were cancelled on Friday, the French railway announced. The French civil aviation authority instructed airlines to reduce their Friday flight traffic from central airports to 20%.

Public sector workers are unhappy about a reform that would see France transition to a points-based pension system from its current system that has 42 sector-specific pension schemes. Currently, rail workers, mariners and some ballet dancers can retire up to 10 years earlier than other workers. President Macron said that the proposed system would be fairer for everyone.

Macron's proposals follow a long tradition of French government pension reform proposals stretching for three decades. Each reform has been met with massive demonstrations and none of the changes has succeeded in simplifying the pension system.

Years of protests against pension reforms have successfully kept the retirement age low. In France, the pension age was raised to 62 years. This is among the lowest in OECD countries, despite being raised from 60 years in 2010 reforms. In Germany, retirement is at 67 years old.

French union leaders are the driving force behind the nationwide strike — but they are not united. The CGT union is the most hardline. It rejects any pension reform proposals and said workers had blocked seven out of eight of the countries oil refineries. The CFDT union is more moderate and is open to the idea of a points-based system.

While the majority of protesting consisted of peaceful marches, masked protesters also vandalized bus stops, smashed shop windows, and threw fireworks at police as demonstrators progressed through Paris on Thursday.

The so-called Yellow Vests are known for their direct approach to protesting and have said they would join the strikes. Authorities are bracing themselves for possible violence. The yellow-vest movement has swelled into anti-government and anti-inequality protests. Many see the general strike in France as protecting the country's social safety net — not just about preserving pensions.

After peaceful protesting escalated to include rioting and damage to public and private property, security forces also intensified their tactics. Riot police charged crowds and fired tear gas to disperse violent demonstrators.

Police clashed with protesters on Thursday in Nantes, Montpellier, Paris as well as other cities. Masked demonstrators started fires, smashed storefronts, and vandalized cars.