Protestors blocked streets in Paris with fires and clashed with anti-riot police after French president Emmanuel Macron successfully pushed controversial pension reforms through without a vote.

Images from the French capital and across the country show dissenters smashing windows and being pepper-sprayed among burning piles of rubbish.

A strike by waste collectors in response to the proposals has lasted for 15 days, leaving dustbins to overflow and litter to gather at the sides of roads.

The pension bill, raising the retirement age in France from 62 to 64, will become law after the government survived two no-confidence votes.

The first motion, lodged by a coalition of centrist MPs, had 278 votes but needed 287 to pass – meaning the president came within nine votes of having to name a new government or call elections.

A second motion, which was tabled by the far-right National Rally party, also failed the pass by a significantly wider margin.

As both of the preventative measures failed, a bill to raise the retirement age in France from 62 to 64 becomes law.

News of the unsuccessful votes triggered further intense anti-government protests in Paris, where demonstrations have taken place since the president declared he would bypass the National Assembly to get the reforms passed.

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A firefighter deals with a burning pile of rubbish in front of Opera Garnier in Paris last night (Picture: Getty Images)

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Anger was also present within the parliament. As the results of the first motion were read out, left-wing opposition MPs held up pieces of paper reading ‘We continue’, ‘Meet in the streets’ and ‘RIP’.

Hard-left politician Mathilde Panot said: ‘Only nine votes are missing … to bring both the government down and its reform down.

‘The government is already dead in the eyes of the French, it doesn’t have any legitimacy any more.’

MP Charles de Courson, whose centrist allies introduces the first no-confidence vote, said: ‘How can we accept such contempt for parliament?

‘How can we accept such conditions to examine a text which will have lasting effects on the lives of millions of our fellow citizens?’

© Provided by Metro Much of the litter that had piled up due to the strike was set alight in Paris (Picture: Reuters)

While fury on the issue has been simmering since the proposals were announced, it boiled over last week when Mr Macron asked Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne to invoke a special constitutional power called Article 49:3 to avoid a vote.

The measure essentially lets the French government pass a bill without the approval of the National Assembly, following deliberation at a cabinet meeting.

© Provided by Metro Emmanuel Macron came within nine votes of having to appoint a new government or call elections (Picture: Shutterstock)

© Provided by Metro Far-left lawmakers make their unhappiness clear in the National Assembly, with some holding up signs saying ’64 years, it is no’ (Picture: AP)

However, it also allows MPs to file a no-confidence vote which, if passed, would mean the text is rejected and the government must resign.

Mr Macron’s manoeuvring was required after the president lost his parliamentary majority in elections last year.

He has argued that the reforms are necessary to prevent France’s pension system from becoming unaffordable as the population ages.

The first motion, which was the only one ever likely to succeed, failed thanks to the decision of the conservative Republican party not to support it.

Olivier Marleix, the head of the party’s parliamentary group, said: ‘We acknowledge the need for a reform to save our pension system and defend retirees’ purchasing power.’

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