Unions have called the day of protest, the fourth round of action against a bill that will raise the retirement age. The bill is due to be debated in the Senate from October 5.
Families and students are set to swell demonstrations against the French government's pension reform that unions hope will attract as many as 3 million protesters on Saturday.
Unions have called the day of protest, the fourth round of action against a bill that will raise the retirement age. The bill is due to be debated in the Senate from October 5.
About 230 protests are scheduled across the country after huge demonstrations last month against a reform deemed unjust by unions but essential by President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Unions, who also plan a strike on October 12, hope to draw 2-3 million people on Saturday and polls suggest support against the reform is gathering momentum.
A survey published by French daily newspaper L'Humanite showed more than 70% of people backed the day of action.
"The main point of this reform is the inequalities that are growing and that's what makes the core of (our support)," Francois Chereque, chief of the powerful CFDT union, told Europe 1 radio on Saturday.
The government says the legislation is essential to erase a growing deficit in the pay-as-you-go pension system, curb rising public debt and preserve France's AAA credit rating, which enables it to borrow at low financial market rates.
Unions say around 3 million people took part in strikes and protests on September 23. Police say the figure was about 1 million. Work stoppages disrupted schools, flights and public transport.
Striking dockers continued to paralyse France's largest port in Marseille on Saturday. Stoppages have spread to other docks as protests over liberalisation in the sector dovetailed with the broader unrest over pension reform.
Elsewhere in Europe indebted governments are cutting back on spending, most notably in Spain, Portugal and Greece, as austerity takes hold in the euro zone.
Unions expect a bigger turnout of families, who are less likely to protest on weekdays, and students as concerns about pension reform highlight a deeper anxiety about their future.
"Pensions are not just about old people," said Jean-Baptiste Prevost, president of the UNEF student union. "We simply want our voice heard." According to another Humanite survey 74% of 18- to 24-year-olds are against the reform.
Unions hoped the mass protest on September 23 would oblige the government to back down on the flagship reform of Sarkozy's five-year term.
The Senate --the upper house -- has said it will offer minor concessions on the bill but has ruled out any changes to its key features.
The bill would raise the minimum legal retirement age to 62 from 60 and the age at which people can retire on a full pension to 67 from 65. It is a major part of the government's plan to balance the system's finances by 2018 and reduce debts bloated by the recession of 2008-2009.
"I am listening to the protesters, I understand their anger, but the role of the head of state is to fulfil his responsibilities," Sarkozy said on Friday. "The pension reform and budget cuts are essential for our competititivity."
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