French court approves Macron’s plan to raise pension age as nationwide protests rage on

France's Constitutional Council on Friday approved President Emmanuel Macron's controversial raising of the retirement age, as nationwide protests against raising the retirement age rumbled on.

The council passed the core of the pension reform, including the increase in the retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64, but removed six additional provisions as had been expected.

It also rejected a bid to hold a citizens' referendum on the changes.

Long traffic jams formed in cities including Marseille during the day. Protesters made their way into the headquarters of luxury goods giant LVMH and lit smoke flares on Thursday — the same day the company's share price reached a fresh record high, following the release of its first-quarter results.

Ahead of the decision, Macron said he would seek to meet with unions, which expressed their anger through the day.

Macron and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire argue that the reforms are fiscally necessary to secure the costly pension system into the future. The measures will drive up the retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64, as well as increase the number of years in work required to receive a full pension.

Opponents argue that the changes mark a political decision that disproportionally impacts lower-paid workers and women, while companies report bumper profits.

In an interview with French TV stations last month, Macron insisted that the moves were necessary, but acknowledged that people felt a "sense of injustice" and said that he would look to make businesses contribute more.

The French leader has faced a huge uphill political battle to get the pension changes, which he has advocated for years, to this stage. His popularity has plummeted, and widespread strikes and protests that have involved clashes with police have been staged since the start of the year.

The government of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne used a special constitutional measure to pass the changes without a parliamentary majority because of the large number of opposing politicians. The process involved triggering Article 49.3 of the French Constitution to amend the social security budget. The government then narrowly survived a no-confidence vote.

The appeal against it was based on three points concerning the information that was provided to lawmakers, the suitability of the procedure and whether the bill fills the budgetary scope, Le Monde reports.

An outright rejection was considered unlikely because the move has precedent, but the council could remove more minor provisions, such as a requirement for large companies to publish annual reports on how many workers they employ who are aged 55 and over.

Ahead of the announcement, Renaud Foucart, senior lecturer in economics at Lancaster University, told CNBC a partial approval was likely the best outcome for Macron. "He can then sit down with unions and say we can negotiate some sort of new additions or reforms with a more social focus," Foucart said.

Demonstrations are likely to continue.

"Tonight, Paris will burn," Foucart said. "But the decision today is likely to provide a chance for Macron to try to change the subject."

Foucart noted that, while the nine-member council is France's top constitutional authority, it is not akin to a supreme court and mainly comprises former politicians elected to serve nine-year terms, rather than lawyers.