THE French President Emmanuel Macron arrived very discreetly today, three hours after his colleagues, at the Summit of EU Heads of State and Government, according to an AFP journalist.

He entered the plenary at around 14.45 (15.45 Greek time), the Élysée clarified, without passing through the red carpet in front of which the journalists are at the entrance of the European Council building.

The 26 other heads of state and government had arrived from 11.00 in the morning for lunch with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

The French head of state, facing a political and social crisis in his country after the adoption with much difficulty of the reform of the pension system, had “meetings” this morning at the Elysée, the presidency announced, without further elaboration.

At the same time, France is facing a massive wave of protests against the pension reform bill. More than 800,000 protesters are on the streets while serious incidents have occurred in Paris and other major cities across the country.