Watch live: French workers march in Paris against Macron’s pension reform plans

(AP)

Watch live as French unions march in Paris against Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plans.

More than one million people took to the streets for the day of strike action on 19 January, according to official statistics, in the biggest demonstrations since the last major round of pension reform under right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010.

Paris metro and suburban rail services will be severely restricted on Tuesday, according to operator RATP, while intercity travel will be disrupted with just one in three high-speed trains running.

The most controversial part of the proposed reform is hiking the minimum retirement age to 64 from 62, which is the lowest level in any major European economy.

President Macron, who made the change part of his re-election manifesto, says it is needed to guarantee the future financing of the pension system.

Failure to succeed with a signature proposal would severely undermine Mr Macron’s credibility for the remainder of his second and last term in office, analysts say.