Paris/London CNN —
French schools and transport networks were severely disrupted on Tuesday for the second time this month as unions staged another mass strike against government plans to raise the retirement age for most workers.
unions and opposition parties urged people to protest in major cities in hopes of a repeat of the first major demonstration against the plans on Jan. 19, attended by more than 1 million people. Strikes that day brought the transport network to a standstill and closed the Eiffel Tower to visitors.
In Paris, more than 100 schools were expected to close on Tuesday as 60% of teachers leave school, major education union FSU said on Twitter.
The French capital was expected to bear the brunt of the protests and the country’s interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said 4,000 police officers would be deployed to ensure the strikes took place “without serious incident”.
The city’s transport authority RATP warned that the underground and S-Bahn traffic would be “very disrupted”.
National rail operator SNCF said two-thirds of trains on the TGV, France’s intercity high-speed train, were canceled on Tuesday and only 20% of regional trains were running.
Air France (AFLYY) canceled 10% of short-haul flights, but strikes would not affect long-haul flights. Eurostar meanwhile canceled several connections between Paris and London.
There would be 248 protests across the country, Philippe Martinez, the head of one of France’s largest trade union confederations, the CGT, told CNN affiliate BFM-TV on Tuesday.
Despite the mass action, President Emmanuel Macron’s government is sticking to planned pension reforms that will gradually raise the age at which French citizens can receive a state pension from 62 to 64.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne said raising the retirement age was “non-negotiable” during an interview with domestic TV channel France Info.
The government has said legislation is needed to address a funding deficit, but the reforms have angered workers at a time when the cost of living is rising.
Thousands took part in mass demonstrations on the streets of Paris last year to protest the cost of living, and strikes by workers demanding higher wages dried up fuel pumps across the country a few months ago.
France spends nearly 14% of GDP on state pensions, one of the highest rates among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.
Raising the retirement age to 64 will keep France below the norm in Europe and many other developed economies, where the age at which full pension rights vest is 65 and moving increasingly towards 67.
— Marguerite Lacroix contributed to this article.