1 million against retiring later

PARIS – French authorities estimated nearly 1 million protesters filled the streets yesterday to try to force President Nicolas Sarkozy to drop his plan to raise the retirement age two years to 62.
The protest movement has been a big test for Sarkozy who has struggled to convince his country of the need for cost-cutting and scaling back generous social benefits after the Greek debt crisis scared markets and sapped confidence in the entire 16-nation euro currency. (AP)