French retirement protests take violent turn

One cannot play favor to one sub sector of society without repercussions from the others. Once the helping hand of socialism is offered to society, it is nearly impossibly to remove without some sort of social disruption.

Masked youths clashed with police and set fires in cities across France on Tuesday as protests against a proposed hike in the retirement age took an increasingly radical turn. Hundreds of flights were canceled, long lines formed at gas stations and train service in many regions was cut in half.

President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged to crack down on "troublemakers" and guarantee public order, raising the possibility of more confrontations with young rioters after a week of disruptive but largely nonviolent demonstrations.

Source: news.yahoo.com