Hurt Anadolu Agency journo undergoes operation in Paris

Anadolu Agency's photojournalist, who was wounded during clashes between French police and demonstrators protesting controversial plans for pension reform, has undergone a surgery in the capital Paris.

Mustafa Yalcin, who was injured in the eye when a gas canister fired by the security forces struck him in the face, breaking his mask, has gone through six-hour-operation in Cochin Hospital, where he was rushed following the incident on Thursday.

Doctors reported that Yalcin was kept under medical observation in the hospital.

Thursday saw one of the biggest strikes in recent French history.

On Friday, strikers continued their protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial pension plans in France.

The Interior Ministry said 806,000 people took part in the protests, while labor unions put the number at nearly 1.5 million for the demonstrations in which police have used smoke bombs to disperse the crowd.

The "unlimited" strike impacted all public transport systems in the country, according to local media reports.

Workers for RATP, the Parisian public transport operator, announced plans to continue striking through Monday, leading to severe hardship in the capital, the reports said.

Airlines were told again on Friday to reduce their flights over France by 20%, which means further cancellations, affecting again all flights in, out, or over France.

Rail unions will also continue striking, so the service on public rail operator SNCF trains will reduce 90%, as of Thursday.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara