Workers protest against Emmanuel Macron's pension reform 2:41
(CNN) --
Protesters across France launched strikes Tuesday against the government's controversial pension reform plans.
Schools and transport networks are being affected for the second time this month.
Unions and opposition parties called on people to protest in major cities, hoping for a repeat of the first major demonstration against the plans on January 19, when more than a million people participated.
Strikes that day paralyzed the transportation network and closed the Eiffel Tower to visitors.
In the southern city of Marseille, people took to the streets to protest against the government's plan to raise the retirement age to 64.
Protesters walk slowly through the city's port, some carrying red flags with the logos of the CGT unions.
Analysis |
Labor informality a time bomb in the pension system in France
The French Ministry of Education said in a statement on Tuesday that 26.6% of primary school teachers and 25.2% of secondary school teachers were on strike.
However, the country's main secondary teachers' union estimated the figure to be much higher.
In a statement on Thursday of last week, SNES-FSU said that 55% of high school teachers were on strike across the country.
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In the southwestern city of Toulouse, more than 80,000 protesters gathered in the streets, CNN affiliate BFM reported, citing the French trade union CGT.
Large crowds are expected in the French capital, starting at 7 ET, where 4,000 police have been deployed to ensure strikes take place "without serious incidents," according to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
The French capital is expected to be the hardest hit by the protests.
The city's transport agency, RATP, warned that metro and suburban rail services would be "highly disrupted."
National rail operator SNCF said two-thirds of trains on TGV, France's high-speed intercity rail service, would be canceled on Tuesday and only 20% of regional trains would operate.
Air France canceled 10% of short-haul flights but said the strikes would not affect long-haul services.
Eurostar, for its part, canceled several services between Paris and London.
Demonstrators take part in a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Bordeaux on January 31, 2023. (Photo by PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
In total, 248 protests are planned across the country, Philippe Martinez, leader of one of France's largest trade union confederations, CGT, told CNN affiliate BFM-TV on Tuesday.
Despite the massive action, the government of President Emmanuel Macron is sticking to planned pension reforms, which will gradually increase the age at which French citizens can draw a state pension from 62 to 64.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne said raising the retirement age "is not negotiable" during an interview on the national television station France Info.
The government says the legislation is needed to tackle a funding gap, but the reforms have angered workers at a time when living costs are rising.
Thousands of people took part in massive demonstrations on the streets of Paris last year to protest the cost of living, and strikes by workers demanding higher wages caused fuel pumps to run dry across the country a few months ago. .
France spends almost 14% of GDP on state pensions, one of the highest rates among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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 benefits are awarded is 65 and moving ever closer to the 67.
Marguerite Lacroix contributed to this article.
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