Protests are gaining pace in France with President Nicolas Sarkozy in trouble with his pension reform plans.

French unions have called a national day of strikes and rallies for Tuesday, which is the day a draft pension reform law is introduced into the French parliament.

More than 190 marches are planned, and unions hope for a bigger turnout than for a similar protest on June 24th, when between 800,000 and two million people marched.

The new pensions bill is likely to increase France’s minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 by 2018.

Because the age-raising for the cherished pension is not opposed totally, President Sarkozy has forged ahead with his plan to make pension reform the key measure of the final two years of his first government.

A recent poll in France showed that a narrow 53 percent majority found Sarkozy’s plan acceptable.

In June, the same survey found that 58 percent backed raising the age at which the pension could be obtained.

But Sarkozy’s personal approval rating has slipped to only 32 percent, its lowest ever level since he took office in 2007.