Called by major unions, French people across the country walked off jobs on Tuesday to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reform plan.

People protest against the retirement reform in Paris, France, Sept. 7, 2010. French labor unions leading a nationwide strike against retirement reform hailed on Tuesday the success of the largest demonstration aimed at forcing the government to bow to the streets' call. About 2.5 million people participated in the strike across the country. [Ying Qiang/Xinhua]

The nationwide industrial action was started Monday by secondary school teachers, who protested job cuts. Teachers' union Snuipp said 62 percent of teachers would go on strike on Tuesday. But the Education Ministry said only near 30 percent of the teachers took to the street on Tuesday morning.

A statement by French national railway company SNCF said their workers' strike would last from 8 p.m. Monday till 8 a.m. Wednesday, affecting trains linking French regions and neighboring countries except for England, as Eurostar traffic remained normal.

Though minimum service in transport for passengers is guaranteed, the state-owned company promised unconditional refund for commuters affected by the strike. Paris road traffic and air traffic are also partially canceled.

According to the SNCF, 43 percent of workers went on strike while the biggest union CGT estimated the figure was 52 percent, both higher than the last nationwide strike against pension reform on July 24.