Paris rubbish strike ends as pension protest turnout falls

Demonstrators walk past burning rubbish bins during a demonstration in Paris (Thibault Camus/AP)

Sanitation workers in Paris were set to return to work to clear the heaps of rubbish that have piled up over their weeks-long strike as protests against French president Emmanuel Marcon’s controversial pension Bill appeared to be winding down.

Rubbish mounds of up to 10,000 tonnes along the French capital’s streets — reportedly equal to the weight of the Eiffel Tower — have become a striking visual symbol of opposition to Mr Marcon’s Bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.