Labor unions said that The ninth nationwide day of action planned for March 23, 2023 would draw huge crowds against what they described as French President Emmanuel Macron's scorn and lies. Hundreds of thousands of people were due to strike and demonstrate in France on Thursday after President Emmanuel Macron pledged to push on with pension reform despite growing anger across the country.
Protests against the legislation - which lifts the retirement age by two years to 64 - have drawn huge crowds in rallies organized by unions since January.
Labor unions said Thursday's ninth nationwide day of action would draw huge crowds against what they described as Macron's scorn and lies. On Wednesday, Macron drew an angry response from unions and opposition parties when he rejected their calls for him to listen to growing popular anger.
The president's best response is that there are millions of people on strike and in the streets, said Philippe Martinez, who leads the hardline CGT union.
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Train traffic will be seriously disrupted on Thursday, with airports affected, and teachers among many professions walking off the job, while rolling strikes continue at oil depots and amid garbage collectors.
The bill was passed without a vote last week, but anger has risen since the government pushed it through parliament.
The past seven nights, spontaneous demonstrations in Paris and other cities with rubbish bins have been set ablaze and scuffled with police.
Macron said on Wednesday that the new law was necessary and would come into force later this year.
He dismissed calls to fire his prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, who has been at the forefront of pension reform, and tried to turn the page, tasking her with broadening her parliamentary majority and re-engaging with unions.
Olivier Faure, head of the Socialist Party, said he had put more explosives on an already well lit inferno.
A demonstrator kicks off a tear gas canister during a protest in Rennes, western France on March 22, 2023. Hundreds of thousands of people were to strike and demonstrate in France on March 23, 2023 after Macron promised to push on with a deeply unpopular pension reform despite escalating anger across the country. The latest wave of protests represents the most serious challenge to the president's authority since the Yellow Vest revolt four years ago. There are a majority of French opposed to the pension legislation and the government's decision to push it through parliament without a vote.