More than 1.27 million people took part in protests across France on Tuesday against plans to reform the country’s pension system, the French interior ministry said in a statement, Reuters and AFP reported.

The ministry added that 87,000 people took part in the demonstration in Paris, compared with 80,000 on January 19, according to a ministry report.

According to the CGT trade union, the number of protesters nationally would be 2.8 million.

Mass protests in France / PHOTO: Veuillet Quentin/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Tuesday she would listen to “questions” and “doubts” about the pension reform, saying she wanted to stay “the course” on the eve of a new mass mobilization against the project. .

“The pension reform raises questions and doubts. We hear them. Parliamentary debates are opening. This will allow us to transparently enrich our project with one goal: to secure the future of our distribution system. It’s our responsibility!” he wrote on Twitter. of the prime minister, primarily the government’s response to the second day of strikes and demonstrations, even more massive than on the first day.

Only a third of high-speed trains (TGVs) were running and even fewer local and regional trains. There were also major disruptions on the Paris Metro, with platforms overcrowded as passengers scrambled to squeeze in the few available seats.

State utility EDF EDF.PA said 40.3 percent of workers were on strike on Tuesday, and the education ministry also said fewer teachers had walked off the job.

Trade unions announced new protests

Eight major French unions have called for new days of strikes and demonstrations on Tuesday, February 7 and Saturday, February 11.

“The government must hear the mass rejection of this project and withdraw it,” said Patricia Drevon, confederal secretary of the Force Ouvrière, during a press conference between the unions (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC, Unsa, Solidaires, FSU) .

Why the French are dissatisfied with the pension reform

Opinion polls show a majority of French people, already angered by a cost-of-living crisis fueled by high inflation, oppose the reform, but President Emmanuel Macron plans to hold on. The reform is “vital” to ensure the viability of the pension system, he said on Monday.

The government’s plans include raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, as well as delaying the age of eligibility for a full pension. According to Labor Ministry estimates, these measures will bring an additional €17.7 billion to annual pension contributions.

Unions say there are other ways to raise revenue, such as taxing the very rich or requiring employers or wealthy retirees to contribute more.

Unions had hoped to repeat the large turnout from the first day of a national strike on January 19, when more than a million people took to the streets across France.

The government made some concessions in the bill, such as setting a new retirement age of 64 instead of 65 as Macron’s campaign promise, and agreeing to a minimum pension of 1,200 euros a month for all.

Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne said the 64-year-old threshold was “non-negotiable” but the government was looking at ways to offset some of the impact, particularly on women.