Public-sector workers across France went on strike Tuesday to protest the country's economic woes and the government's unpopular reforms.

The strike caused some disruption for commuters in French cities. Trains to Britain and Belgium were running normally, but only 65 per cent of traffic was being guaranteed within France.

Unions say French President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative government hasn't offered satisfactory plans on jobs, salaries, purchasing power and working conditions — and they hope to hammer home that message in the wake of Sunday's regional election defeats.

Sarkozy fired his labour minister, Xavier Darcos, after Sunday's election left their UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) party with control of only three of 26 regions.

Unions are also seizing the opportunity to push the demands of individual professions.

Educators are angry about job cuts. An estimated 30 per cent of primary school teachers failed to show up for class nationwide, the Education Ministry said Tuesday. About 18 per cent of junior high school teachers and 11 per cent out in high school teachers also went on strike.

Radio news station France-Info was affected by the job action, interspersing its usual news broadcasts with periods of music.

Hundreds of thousands of French citizens participated in strikes in January and March last year, protesting the government's response to the economic crisis and disrupting public transit, postal services and hospitals.

With files from The Associated Press