A concert of pots greeted him French President Emmanuel Macron in his first visit to the province after the ratification of the controversial pension reform.

Macron reacted to the noise made by those gathered during his visit to a factory in Alsace, commenting “Pots will not help France to progress”.

The French president said it was not possible for a society to listen only to those who “make the most noise”, trying to highlight the positive aspects of labor legislation. “You will always see me with people. I don’t have the right to stop,” he continued, during his visit to this factory specializing in wooden constructions in the Mittersholz community.

Macron walked into the factory without passing by the protesters who were waiting for him outside. During his stay there was a brief power outage, according to French media. When asked if the hardline CGT union was to blame for the disruption, a spokesman for it declined to comment.

Towards the end of the morning, police pushed back about a hundred protesters who had gathered in the center of the village, armed with pots, bells and horns. Those gathered lay on the ground before being removed by security forces.

“The demonstration took place, the call for a demonstration was peaceful (…) When a president is so afraid of his people (we have to) question his legitimacy,” said Bertrand Blindoer, an official of the CGT union.

On Tuesday night, around 300 protesters awaited Macron on a private visit to Saint-Denis, near Paris.

However, many members of the government or the president’s entourage believe that Macron should “renew” his relationship with the citizens. “It is important” that he visits different areas, said one of his close aides, Transport Minister Clement Bonn, to “listen to some of the claims” of the people.

After unveiling the pension reform in January, the French president remained at the Elysee Palace and made few trips to the country.