PARIS - On Thursday, hundreds of thousands planned to strike and demonstrate in France after President Emmanuel Macron vowed to continue pushing through a wildly unpopular pension reform despite mounting resentment throughout the nation.

Since January, huge crowds have attended union-organized rallies to protest the legislation, raising the retirement age by two years to 64.

Labor unions said Thursday's ninth nationwide day of action would draw huge crowds against what they described as Macron's "scorn" and "lies."

Unions and opposition parties were furious with Macron on Wednesday when he rejected their requests for him to take into account the growing unrest in the country.

The hardline CGT union's leader Philippe Martinez said, "The best response we can give the president is that there are millions of people on strike and in the streets,"

Train traffic will be severely disrupted on Thursday due to the strike, and airports will also be affected. Teachers will be among the many professions participating in the walkout, while rolling strikes continue among garbage collectors and at oil depots.

The majority of demonstrations have been peaceful, but rage has grown since the government forced the bill through parliament last week without a vote.

In Paris and other cities over the past seven nights, there have been unannounced protests that have included burning trash cans and altercations with the police.

In his remarks on Wednesday, Macron remained steadfast in his position that the new law was essential and would take effect later this year.

In an effort to turn the page, he rejected calls to oust Elisabeth Borne, his prime minister, who has been at the forefront of the pension reform. Instead, he gave her the task of expanding her parliamentary majority and re-engaging with labor.

The leader of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, alleged that "he has put more explosives on an already well-lit inferno'.

Since the "Yellow Vest" uprising four years ago, the most significant threat to the president's authority has come from the most recent wave of protests. According to polls, a sizable majority of French people disapprove of the government's decision to force the pension legislation through parliament without a vote.