Thousands march amid French strike

Thousands of protesters, many blowing whistles and waving union flags, marched through Paris and other French cities on a day of nationwide strikes that kept many children out of school, forced the closure of the Eiffel Tower and cancelled some 2,000 flights in and out of France.

Stepping up pressure on President Francois Hollande’s already-unpopular Socialist government, the protesters aired an array of grievances against state funding cuts, planned increases in the retirement age and business-friendly reforms that could make firing workers easier.