Members of the eight main trade unions in France have started a strike that includes a number of vital sectors in the country, including education, public transportation, energy and hospitals, in protest against the government's plans to change the retirement law.
The unions indicated that the percentage of strikers in the education sector amounted to 50%, and clashes took place between police forces and protesters who closed a secondary school in the 20th arrondissement of the capital, Paris.
At the same time, train traffic witnessed a major disruption, and the strike of air traffic controllers at airports affected flight schedules.
In the energy sector, the unions of workers in the French Electricity Company announced a reduction in electricity production by about 3,000 megawatts (4.4% of the total production), as workers in nuclear reactors and thermal power plants joined the strike.
Meanwhile, the General Confederation of Labor announced that the percentage of strikers in oil refineries ranges between 75% and 100%.
The second in two weeks
This is the second strike in two weeks, which was called by the main unions under the slogan "National Mobilization Day".
The unions, who have scheduled protest marches across France throughout the day, want to maintain pressure on the government and hope that the high turnout of the first protest on January 19 will be repeated.
On that day, more than a million people marched across France to oppose raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 and accelerating the plan to raise the age eligible for a full pension.
For his part, Luc Farr, Secretary General of the National Federation of Independent Unions of Civil Servants, said, "This change is unfair and cruel... Raising the retirement age to 64 represents a social regression."
Opinion polls show that most French people oppose this change, but President Emmanuel Macron and his government intend to stick to their position.
On Monday, Macron said the reform was "essential" to ensure the pension system continues to function.
The Ministry of Labor estimates that raising the retirement age by two years and extending the payment period would generate 17.7 billion euros ($19.18 billion) in annual pension contributions, allowing the system to balance by 2027.
Unions say there are other ways to achieve this, such as taxing the wealthy or asking employers or better-off retirees to contribute more.