More than one million people took part in demonstrations across France on Thursday, according to the hardline CGT union. Union leaders hailed the strike as "already a success" and issued a warning to Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, demanding fiscal, social and environmental justice in his upcoming budget.
The figures indicate that the protests were the biggest union-led demonstrations in France since weeks of mobilisation in 2023 against Macron's pension reforms.
The interior ministry, whose count of protesters is usually substantially lower than that of the unions, is due to give its estimate later.
Teachers, train drivers, pharmacists and hospital staff were among those who went on strike as part of the day of protests, while teenagers blocked dozens of high schools.
Protesters are calling for the previous government's fiscal plans to be scrapped, for more spending on public services, higher taxes on the wealthy, and for the reversal of an unpopular change making people work longer to get a pension.
"Block your high school against austerity," read a placard raised by a student in front of the Lycee Maurice Ravel high school, where the gathering included teachers and workers' representatives.
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Pressure over budget
"The anger is huge, and so is the determination. My message to Mr. Lecornu today is this: it's the streets that must decide the budget," Sophie Binet, the head of the CGT union, said as Macron's new prime minister scrambles to put together a budget for next year, and a new government.
Binet said 400,000 took part in morning rallies across France with more, including one in Paris, yet to get started.
Macron and Lecornu are under pressure on one side from protesters and left-wing parties opposed to budget cuts and, on the other, from investors concerned about the deficit in the euro zone's second largest economy.
Parliament is deeply divided and none of its three main groups have a majority.
"This is a warning, a clear warning to Sebastien Lecornu," Marylise Leon, the head of the CFDT union said of Thursday's protests. "We want a socially fair budget," she said.
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Protests hit schools, trains
An Interior Ministry source said earlier this week that as many as 800,000 people were expected to take part in the strikes and protests.
One in three primary school teachers were on strike nationwide, and nearly one in two walked off the job in Paris, the FSU-SNUipp union said.
Regional trains were heavily affected, while most of the country's high-speed TGV train lines worked, officials said. Protesters gathered to slow down traffic on a highway near the southeastern city of Toulon.
There were some clashes on the margins of protest rallies in the western city of Nantes, with police firing tear gas, and in Lyon, where French media said three people were injured.
"Workers are currently so despised by this government and by (President Emmanuel) Macron that, in fact, it can't continue like this," bus driver and union representative Fred said at a rally in front of a Paris high school blocked by students.
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Budget deficit
France's budget deficit last year was close to double the EU's 3 percent ceiling but much as he wants to reduce that, Lecornu – reliant on other parties to push through legislation – will face a battle to gather parliamentary support for a budget for 2026.
Lecornu's predecessor, Francois Bayrou, was ousted by parliament last week over his plan for a 44 billion euro budget squeeze. The new prime minister has not yet said what he will do with Bayrou's plans, but has signalled a willingness to compromise.
Some 80,000 police and gendarmes were set to be deployed throughout the day, including riot units, drones and armoured vehicles. More than 90 people had already been arrested on various sites, police said.
(Reuters, AFP)
