Water cannons and tear gas in France against Participants of Protest against Pension Reform

Police fired tear gas at a protest against the pension reform in Paris, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported on Tuesday.

The second nationwide strike against the pension reform is taking place in France on Tuesday, with more than 200 protests taking place across the country. Police expect 1.2 million people to take part in demonstrations across France, and 100,000 people in Paris.

Celine Verzeletti, a member of the CGT trade union's confederation leadership, said that industrial action was expected to top that of January 19 when between 1.1 million and 2 million rallied nationwide.

A Sputnik correspondent estimated the crowd that gathered ahead of the protest march in central Paris at tens of thousands.

Trade unions expect over 100,000 workers to strike in the capital.

A further 240,000 people joined the strike action in Marseilles, 60,000 in Toulouse, 28,000 in Caen, 12,000 in Tarbes, and 6,000 in Castres, Verzeletti said.

"The reform's withdrawal is not negotiable, it is unavoidable," she said on social media.

More than a dozen trade unions called their members out to join some 200 demonstrations taking place across the country as pressure mounts on Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to scrap her plan to push retirement age to from 62 to 64.