Ring roads have been shut and ports blocked across France as protests intensify against Emmanuel Macron used an emergency presidential decree to raise the state pension age.

The country is reeling from a night of violence in major cities including Paris, where there were 216 arrests, mainly for violent-order offences.

By 9am on Friday (March 17), the Paris ring road was shut down, along with the port of Calais and numerous oil refineries, as unions and protestors look to bring France to a standstill.

It is estimated that more than one million have been involved in the rallies.

Train and metro services, including the Eurostar, have also been cancelled, with many schools closed.

Mr Macron has forced through legislation to raise the state pension age from 62 to 64 - but what are the highest and lowest pension ages around the world?

What are the highest and lowest pension ages around the world?

In 2019, the latest period for which comparable data is available, the average retirement age in OECD countries was 64 years.

Highest pension ages

Greece is among the countries with the highest retirement age in the world; 67 for men and women. Workers can only claim full pension benefits if they have contributed to the pension plan for at least 15 years (equivalent to 4,500 working days).

Denmark, Iceland, Israel, and Italy also have retirement ages of 67.

For anyone born in 1960 and later, the US Social Security Administration states that the current retirement age in the US is also 67.

Americans’ retirement age is 66 if they were born between 1943 and 1954, and 66-and-a-half if they were born in 1955. Starting in 1955, the retirement age gradually rises by two months a year until 1959.

The current retirement age in Ireland is 66.

Lowest pension ages

Only four countries have a state retirement age below 60 years old.

Sri Lanka has one of the lowest pension ages in the world, with workers able to clock off at 55.

Indonesia and Nepal follow closely behind, with retirement ages of 58.

In fourth place is Bangladesh, with a pension age of 59 years old.

What is the current retirement age in the UK?

The current state pension retirement age in the UK is 66.

However, this is set to rise to 68 in the 2030s under new Government plans.

The state pension age is already due to rise from 66 to 67 by 2028.

Millions born in the 1970s and later are already being told on the pension calculator they will have to wait till 67 to receive their pension, with a warning saying the age is set to increase again.

The next increase — to 68 — was not scheduled to happen until 2046, but a forthcoming review is set to recommend it should be brought forward.

You can keep working after you reach the state pension age in the UK.