PARIS — As confrontation mounted over a contentious plan to reform the retirement system, the French civil aviation authority said on Monday it was asking airlines to cut flights into French airports by up to 50 percent on Tuesday because of possible strikes by airport personnel, The New York Times reports.

The announcement intensified a mood of gathering crisis with labor unions calling for national stoppages on Tuesday as the Senate prepares to finalize a package of reforms to the retirement system proposed by President Nicolas Sarkozy to wrest France from the economic doldrums gripping many parts of Europe. The measures, to be voted on Wednesday, would increase the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62.

The civil aviation authority said France was asking airline operators to reduce flights into Orly airport outside Paris by 50 percent and by 30 percent to all other airports, raising the strong possibility that transport chaos on the highways will spread to the skies.

The announcement by the civil aviation authority came as high school students clashed with police and protesters blocked two main highways. The protests are seen as entering a critical phase with neither the government nor the labor unions prepared to back down and little sign of compromise.

On Monday, oil industry workers used tires to prevent access to a refinery east of Paris to resist management efforts to reopen it.

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