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Emmanuel Macron has "lost his mind", according to a protesting union official.

Randja Kanouni, a public sector consultant and member of CGT union, said the French president is forcefully going ahead with a reform "nobody wants except [him]".

Civil unrest erupted yesterday because he ignored months of peaceful protest and the parliamentary process, she said.

"The president is not making any sense right now, he has lost his mind," she said.

Asked if the protests had gone too far, Ms Kanouni replied: "We think the government has gone too far, clearly, because for months we have been millions in the streets. There was no violence and he still is going on with his reform.

"So yes people are angry because when we won the parliament battle and he had no majority he decided to go [ahead] anyway with this reform.

"He is saying 'I don't care about what the people think, I don't care about what MPs think', so yes a lot of people are angry and sometimes when people are angry they are not peaceful, and also the police are not helping sometimes."

As motions of no confidence are table, she said the goal of the protestors as not to change the government, but if that is the only way to block the reforms, "so be it". 

Police arrested 310 people overnight, French interior minister G茅rald Darmanin told radio station RTL.

The vast majority of them - 258 - were arrested in Paris, where protestors demonstrated their opposition to pension reforms in Place de la Concorde, which faces the National Assembly building, and the chic Champs-Elysees neighborhood.

Others were made across France, with people taking to the streets in Rennes and Nantes in eastern France to Lyon and the southern port city of Marseille.

Two motions of no confidence in the French government have been tabled, according to local media.

Marine Le Penn's Rassemblement National have submitted one, signed by 88 MPs from several parties

Another has been put forward by LIOT ( known as the independents group) signed by 91 MPs from five parliamentary groups.

A broad alliance of France's main unions said they will continue to demonstrate to force a U-turn on pension reforms.

Workers rallied in Toulon today and briefly blocked the Paris ring road.

More demonstrations are planned for tomorrow and Sunday, as well as a day of nationwide strikes next Thursday.

Teachers' unions have called for more strikes next week which would disrupt exams. 

More than 80% of the public are unhappy with the decision to skip a vote in parliament on the reforms, and 65% say strikes and protests should continue, according to a Toluna Harris Interactive poll for RTL radio.

Protests have remained peaceful so far this year, but lasts night's erupted in a way reminiscent of the Yellow Vests riots.

They broke out in 2018 over high fuel prices and forced Macron into a partial U-turn on a carbon tax. 

A night of protests have left cars upturned and rubbish skips torched in multiple cities in France.

Around 10,000 people spontaneously took to the streets to demonstrate their anger at pension reforms being forced through parliament, according to French media.

It is perhaps the greatest challenge to President Emmanuel Macron's authority since the so-called yellow vest protests.

"Something fundamental happened, and that is that, immediately, spontaneous mobilisations took place throughout the country," Jean-Luc Melenchon, a left-wing leader in the French parliament, said.

 "It goes without saying that I encourage them, I think that's where it's happening." 

Here we will be bringing you all the latest news and analysis on events unfolding in France after spontaneous, dramatic protests against pension reforms - but first, a recap of last night's key events:

• The French prime minister announced a bill would be forced through parliament without a vote that raises the retirement age from 62 to 64
• Around 10,000 protestors took to the streets to demonstrate against the change and the use of a special constitutional power to achieve it
• Tear gas was fired and blazes were lit in Paris 
• A vote of no confidence in the government is reportedly being prepared by opposition members

Our live coverage of the French protests has now ended - but before you got, here's a recap of what happened this evening:

• The French Prime Minister announced the government would force through plans to raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64 without a vote
• Chaotic scenes broke out in parliament, with opposition members calling the move anti-democratic
• The government said the possibility of a no-confidence vote  meant power still ultimately lay with the legislature 
• But this argument held little water for thousands of citizens, who took to the streets, setting fires and clashing with police
• Firefighters rushed to the scene, while police officers fired tear gas and arrested 120 people in Paris

The scenes on the streets of France follow forceful opposition to the bill in recent days.

Nearly 500,000 people protested against raising the age of retirement across the country yesterday.

Hostility extended inside parliament: Leftists and far-right legislators were strongly opposed and conservatives were divided.

Police have now arrested almost a further 50 people in Paris, bringing the total to 120, according to Le Figaro.

A police officer was injured in one standoff with protestors and rioters.

Colleagues dragged them away from the wall of riot shields gathered at the demonstration.

Rubbish piles and pallets burn near Concorde square in Paris, where thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in an unplanned rally against pension reform.