French unions have called a new strike by workers for the fifth day of action against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to reform pensions.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take part in protests across France on Saturday.

Trade unions in France launch a third wave of nationwide strikes against President Emmanuel Macron's proposed pension reform plan, a day after the controversial bill began its passage through parliament. 

Charlie Hebdo has over the years been in news for all the wrong reasons, mostly for its no-holds-barred attacks on Islam and Islamic sanctities in the name of free speech and freedom of expression.

Algeria's president has called on France to relinquish its "colonizer complex," in order to reshape its relations with the North African state.

The strike action is seen as a barometer of potential social unrest engulfing France.