French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan on retirement age brought nearly 27 lakh people to the roads of France.

Sarkozy is facing a tough battle ahead. He had earlier insisted that he will not back down from his pension reforms but his government's plans to raise the retirement age of employees from 60 to 62 has drawn severe flak from the people of France. As a result of this, nearly 27 lakh people took to the streets of France on Wednesday.

“There is a real discontent in French society today,” says Elie Cohen, Professor at Sciences-Po.

Already the French government has been forced to shell out nearly $1.3 billion on reforms announced even before the recession. Now the new protests will surely leave the president an anxious man.