Mass Strikes Hit France as Anger Mounts Over Budget Cuts
France has been taken over by nationwide strikes on Thursday as hundreds of thousands of workers walked out in protest against planned budget cuts. Teachers, health workers, transport staff, and even pharmacists have joined the action, shutting down schools, disrupting trains, and closing nearly all of the pharmacies in the country. In Paris, students blocked school gates while chanting slogans against austerity. “Block your high school against austerity,” read one sign held by students outside Lycée Maurice Ravel.
The protests are the first major challenge for new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who replaced François Bayrou after his €44 billion austerity plan was rejected by parliament. Although Lecornu hasn’t confirmed whether he’ll stick with the proposed cuts, unions remain sceptical. “The workers we represent are angry,” unions said in a joint statement, slamming the previous budget as “brutal” and “unfair.” CGT leader Sophie Binet declared, “We need to be out in force... to force the government and the employers to put an end to policies that only serve the richest.”
French authorities are braced for unrest, and have deployed 80,000 police nationwide with riot gear, drones, and water cannons. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned of “troublemakers” trying to hijack the marches and promised a tough response. More than 20 arrests had been made by midday. Meanwhile, public frustration remains high as Macron’s approval ratings slump and the government scrambles to control rising public debt — now estimated at being the equivalent of nearly €50,000 per citizen.
