PARIS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Only 281,000 people turned out for the 14th general mobilization against the French government's controversial pension reform on Tuesday, the country's Interior Ministry has announced. This is the lowest turnout since January, the ministry said.
However, according to the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), France's largest union, the number of protesters exceeded 900,000 nationwide.
All the protests were relatively peaceful, although 28 people were arrested in Paris.
The general mobilization is no longer widely supported by certain sectors. The national railway company SNCF, and the RATP public transport system in Paris both maintained almost full service on Tuesday.
The only major disruption was in aviation, with the French civil aviation authorities asking Paris Orly airport to cancel 30 percent of Tuesday's flights, and 20 percent for some other major airports in France.
On April 14, France's Constitutional Council ruled that the legal retirement age would be gradually raised from 62 to 64 by 2030.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne first presented details of the pension reform plan in January. The reform also introduces a guaranteed minimum pension, and from 2027 onwards at least 43 years of work will be required to be eligible for a full pension. ■