Journalist Mustafa Yalgin was injured when a teargas canister hurled by police hit and shattered his face mask (Picture: Getty)

A photojournalist could lose his eye after being hit in the face with a gas canister during violent protests in France.

Pictures show Turkish press agency Anadolu’s journalist Mustafa Yalgin covered in bandages, with blood seeping from his eye.

His face mask was shattered by a tear gas canister launched by French police during a demonstration yesterday.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital, with reporters at the scene claiming it is ‘likely’ he will lose an eye as a result.


France remains shut down for a second day today after flames and tear gas filled the streets amid strikes over pension reforms.



The country was hit by travel chaos, closed schools and understaffed hospitals while protesters rioted in the streets of Paris yesterday, leading to dozens of arrests.

Transport staff, teachers, doctors, police, firefighters and civil servants went on strike against Emmanuel Macron’s planned pension reforms that would see them retiring later or facing reduced payouts.

Turkish Anadolu Agency photojournalist Mustafa Yalgin was wounded in the eye by a teargas canister hurled by French police during violent protests (Picture: Getty)

The canister shattered Yalgin’s face mask (Picture: Getty)

A firefighter battles flames lit by the entrance to a Metro station in Paris (Picture: Getty)

Police intervene in protests during the strikes (Picture: Getty)

Fireworks are shot towards police officers by protesters (Picture: Getty)

Tear gas and flares are thrown in the streets of Paris (Picture: Getty)

Unions said 1.5 million people took part in the protests amid nationwide strikes (Picture: Getty)

Police used smoke bombs to disperse the crowd (Picture: Getty)

The protests and strikes are expected to shut down France for a second day today (Picture: Getty)

Protesters clash with police as violence breaks out (Picture: Getty)

The strikes inspired more than 800,000 people to protest, with violent clashes reported in a number of cities.

Unions have said there will be no let-up in the strikes until the French president ditches his plans.

A majority of rush-hour trains heading into Paris were cancelled this morning and 10 out of 16 metro lines were closed while others ran limited services.

Traffic jams totalling more than 350 kilometres clogged the main roads in and around the capital, according to traffic app Styadin, as many commuters took to their cars.

Paris transport employee Patrick Dos Santos, 50, said: ‘We’re going to protest for a week at least, and at the end of that week it’s the government that’s going to back down.’

Mr Macron, 41, a former investment banker who took office in 2017 on a promise to open up France’s highly regulated economy, has said the current pension system is unfair and too costly.

His government has reportedly made plans to deal with the strike action at the weekend.

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in cities across France (Picture: Getty)

Emmanuel Macron is facing his biggest test since the Gilet Jaune movement (Picture: Getty)

Railway, transport workers, teachers, students, hospital employees, police officers, garbage collectors, truck drivers and airline workers join the strike (Picture: Getty)

Protesters march in gas masks as tear gas is fired (Picture: AP)

French police gave the figure of 800,000 people taking to the streets across the country, including 65,000 in Paris.

But union leaders put the numbers higher, with the CGT union saying 1.5 million people turned out across France.

The disruption meant popular tourist sites in Paris, including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum, were closed for the day and usually busy transport hubs like the Gare du Nord were unusually quiet.

Rail operator SNCF says 90% of regional trains were cancelled by the disruption on Thursday.

Hundreds of flights were also cancelled, with airlines warning of further disruption to come.

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