A frustrated French public defies Macron. But do protests matter?

Protests against President Macron's retirement reforms have inflamed France. Yet in a country where demonstrating is practically de rigueur, how much difference does marching really make in a situation like this?

At the Place de la Bastille, young people have jumped onto the monumental turquoise pillar, setting off colorful smoke bombs. Reggae music blares out of trade union truck speakers, and a Brazilian drumming group has everyone dancing.

It’s not exactly 1789 and the storming of the Bastille, but it is apropos. After all, it was here that the French...