Massive protests fail to budge Sarkozy on retirement age

French President Nicolas Sarkozy today agreed to modify his bill to overhaul the pension system in response to massive strikes and demonstrations by workers, though he said he won't retreat on raising the retirement age from 60 to 62.

Protestors across France, furious over the government's proposals to change the pensions system, flooded the boulevards of cities from Paris to Marseille on Tuesday as Nicolas Sarkozy's embattled labour minister presented the reform to a parliament echoing with jeers.

Huge numbers of people – 1.1 million according to the government, 2.7 million according to the leading Confederation Generale du Travail (CGT) union – turned out throughout France to demonstrate against plans to raise the retirement age. There was significant disruption caused to trains, planes and public services as a result of the strike. In the capital alone, the CGT union estimated the number of protesters at 270,000.

''We must make sure French people's pensions and their children's pensions will be financed,'' Sarkozy said in a statement today after the weekly cabinet meeting in Paris. While calling his proposal ''the most reasonable way'', he said, ''I am attentive to the worries that have been voiced.''

Sarkozy has vowed not to compromise on the key plank of his pension proposal, which would lift the retirement age to 62 from 60. He agreed to be more flexible for people who started work early or who did hardship jobs to retire before 62. Labour unions, including the CGT and Force Ouvriere, threatened to call another rally on 18 September.

Labour minister Eric Woerth will submit the amendments to the bill to the National Assembly later today. The lower chamber of parliament began to debate the pension proposal yesterday.