'SWAT squads introduced due to pension changes in French court'

Protesters blocked roads and industrial sites in parts of France on Friday as the country's main constitutional court prepared to deliver its verdict on Emmanuel Macron's failed plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Access to the city centers of Marseille and Rouen was restricted, and roadblocks were set up in the Le Havre industrial zone and other areas near Strasbourg and Lille. In Paris, armed riot police were stationed near the closely guarded building of the Constitutional Council, the nine-member body that determines whether legislation conforms to the Constitution. All street demonstrations were banned in the area, some metro stations''France's public services, expressing general fury against Macron.

The government says raising the minimum age for state pensions is necessary to keep the system sustainable as the population ages.

The increased protests and unrest came after the government used an ordinance to pass changes to the pension system without a parliamentary vote last month, with protesters, including many students, expressing dissatisfaction with a political system that does not listen to public demands.

Advocates have complained of mistreatment of protesters. Polls have shown that two-thirds of the French public oppose''changes to the pension system.

Constitutional experts believe it is unlikely that the council will reject all of Macron's changes to the pension system as a whole.

If Macron's entire package of changes is rejected, it will be a heavy blow to Macron himself and the government.

The Constitutional Council will also decide on a request by politicians of the left-wing parties to hold a referendum among citizens on''pension system. If the decision is approved, opposition parties will need to collect nearly 5 million signatures in favor of a referendum, a process that would last nine months and hang over the government.

"It will be a Damocles storm [over us] for nine months. It won't be easy, but we won't be paralyzed as we have been in recent weeks," one government source told Reuters.