UPDATED: 8:55 a.m. PDT: Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of France's major cities Tuesday, the sixth day of unrest there. President Nicolas Sarkozy has shown no intention to change his plan on the retirement age as protests get increasingly violent.

Protests in France over legislation to increase the retirement age by two years have spread throughout the county, endangering or entirely stopping nearly 25 percent of the fuel supply in the county.  Union members responsible for work in the oil ports and refineries have ceased work in protest, resulting in many gas stations across the country running dry.

The French civil aviation authority today requested that airlines divert between 30 and 50 percent of their flights into the country due to the fuel shortages. 

Fuel industry protesters have been joined by student protesters.  Labor unions have called for nation-wide protests on Tuesday in advance of the potentially decisive final vote on the issue.

The protests spreading across the country bring to a point debate over work hours in France, which has polarized differences between workers and politicians in the country.

The pension reform issue was introduced by President Nicolas Sarkozy and has already passed in the lower house of Parliament.  The upper Senate is to vote on the issue Wednesday.  It would increase the national retirement age from 60 to 62.

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