PARIS: French workers went on strike and joined marches across the country on Thursday, halting trains and cutting electricity production in protest against government plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.

The stoppages are a major test for President Emmanuel Macron, who said on Thursday that his pension reform plan, which opinion polls show is hugely unpopular, was “just and responsible” and had to be carried out.

Protesters disagreed

“It’s salaries and pensions that must be increased, not the retirement age,” read one large banner carried by workers that opened the protest march in Tours, in western France.

“I’ll have to prepare my walking frame if the reform goes through,” said Isabelle, 53, a social worker, saying her job was too tough to add two more years.

Hundreds of thousands took part in rallies across the country, according to police estimates combined by Le Monde newspaper. In Nice, in southern France, a large banner read: “No to the reform.” Police fired tear gas on the fringes of the Paris protest when black-clad, masked individuals in hoodies hurled projectiles at their lines. About 20 people were arrested, BFM TV said, quoting police.

The government says the pension reform is vital to ensure the system does not go bust. Pushing back the retirement age by two years and extending the pay-in period would bring an additional 17.7 billion euros ($19.1 billion) in annual pension contributions, allowing the system to break even by 2027, according to Labour Ministry estimates.

Unions argue there are other ways to ensure the viability of the pension system such as taxing the super-rich or increasing employers’ contributions or those of well-off pensioners.

“This problem can be solved in a different way, through taxation. Workers should not have to pay for the public sector deficit,” said Laurent Berger, the leader of CFDT, France’s biggest labour union.

The challenge for the unions is to transform opposition to the reform - and anger over a cost-of-living crisis - into a mass social protest which could eventually force the government to change tack.

Union leaders, expected to announce more strikes and protests in the evening, said Thursday was just the beginning.