France is bracing for widespread strikes and street protests on Thursday, called by all major trade unions to denounce proposed budget cuts.
This action unfolds as new prime minister Sébastien Lecornu engages with political opponents to address the nation’s substantial deficit and debt. Unions are urging Mr Lecornu to abandon draft budget measures introduced by his predecessor, which include social welfare freezes and austerity policies.
They contend these measures will further erode the purchasing power of low-paid and middle-class workers.
In a joint statement issued prior to the recent change in prime minister, unions condemned such proposals as “unprecedented brutality”, adding that the previous government had “chosen to make workers, those in precarious employment, retirees, and the sick pay the price”.
Unions also continue to denounce president Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform that raised the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64.
Outgoing interior minister Bruno Retailleau said Wednesday he expects “a very strong mobilisation” in the streets. About 80,000 police and gendarmerie officers are to be deployed across the country, he said on news broadcaster BFM TV.
“There is a risk that early in the morning we will see blockades, sabotage, and small groups of ultraleftists who want to cause destruction and are extremely violent,” Retailleau said. Later in the day, street demonstrations are to be staged in many French cities, he added.
Disruptions are expected in multiple sectors, including public transportation, hospitals and schools.
French national rail company SNCF said “a few disruptions” are to be expected on high-speed trains to France and Europe, but most will run.
Regional rail lines, as well as the Paris metro and commuter trains, will be severely impacted.
In airports, only a few disruptions are anticipated as the main air traffic controllers’ union decided to postpone its call for a strike pending the appointment of a new cabinet.
Last week, a day of anti-government action across France saw streets choked with smoke, barricades in flames and volleys of tear gas as protesters denounced budget cuts and political turmoil.
Although falling short of its self-declared intention of total disruption, the “Block Everything” campaign still managed to paralyse parts of daily life and ignite hundreds of hot spots across the country.
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