New wave of protests in France.

Photo: Reuters.

Thousands of French citizens take to the streets this Tuesday in a second day of nationwide protests

against the government's plan to reform the pension system and raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64.

The unions hope that this new round of mobilizations will bring together "at least as many or even more" people than the strike on January 19,

when between one and two million people took to the streets,

local media reported.

Despite the firmness of the Executive, the teachers' unions foresee a participation of 50% of teachers, according to the Snuipp-FSU.

Likewise, workers in the oil sector expect a massive mobilization, with between 75 and 100% participation of strikers from the main refineries and fuel depots of TotalEnergies, according to the General Confederation of Labor (CGT).

"There will be a before and after this date of January 31," said the opposition deputy Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

“We are living a historic day.

Mr Macron will surely lose.

Nobody wants reform from him.

The more the days go by, the more the opposition increases,” he added.

In Paris, the operation of high-speed TGV trains will be reduced to 25 – 30%, while the traffic on the metro is expected to present fewer interruptions than last time.

On Monday, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin,

announced the mobilization of 11,000 police and gendarmes to face the protests.

According to local press reports, there have been several clashes with the Police, who

fired tear gas to disperse protesters on the island of Nantes,

where between 40,000 and 50,000 people have gathered.

While, in Rennes, where approximately 23,000 people were mobilized, the uniformed officers used gas and water cannons to prevent the passage to the François-Mitterrand shopping center for the end of the demonstration.

According to data from the CGT, more than half a million people have gathered in Paris, compared to the 400,000 who gathered on the first day of protests.

While in Marseille around 40,000 people marched, a figure that has not been seen for 20 years, reports the TF1 channel.

On the other hand, the Parisian Police headquarters reported that six people have been arrested in the French capital, where 7,000 controls have already been carried out.

The first moments of tension occurred after hooded men tried to attack a bank branch.

For his part, President Emmanuel Macron described the reform as “essential” to “save” his distributive system.

Earlier, over the weekend, the country's Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, 

declared that postponing the retirement age "is no longer negotiable."

In video, French protest against pension reform

See also:

Protests in France against retirement reform could escalate every week

(Taken from RT in Spanish)