French unions strike against austerity

PARIS — Hundreds of thousands took part in anti-austerity protests across France on Thursday, urging President Emmanuel Macron and his new Prime Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, to acknowledge their anger and scrap looming budget cuts.

Teachers, train drivers, pharmacists and hospital staff members were among those who went on strike as part of the day of protests, while teenagers blocked dozens of high schools for hours. Protesters and unions called for the previous government's fiscal plans to be scrapped, for increased spending on public services, higher taxes on the wealthy and for the reversal of an unpopular change that requires people to work longer to receive a pension.

"The anger is immense, and so is the determination. My message to Mr Lecornu today is this: it's the streets that must decide the budget," said Sophie Binet, head of the CGT union.

The CGT stated that 1 million people participated in the strikes and protests. Authorities estimated the number of protesters to be about half that number. There were some clashes on the margins of the rallies, but the level of violence was not as high as Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau had feared.

Macron's new prime minister is scrambling to put together a budget for next year, as well as a new government. In a post on X, he vowed to meet the unions again "in the coming days".

Lecornu and Macron 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 eurozone's second-largest economy. Parliament is deeply divided and none of its three main groups has a majority.

Primary school teachers were on strike on Thursday, and nearly half walked off the job in Paris, another 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.

In Paris, police on several occasions threw tear gas to disperse troublemakers dressed in black who hurled beer cans and stones at them. Police also intervened to prevent people from targeting banks.

There were brief clashes on the margins of some of the other protests as well, including in Nantes and Lyon, where French media reported that three people were injured. More than 180 people have been arrested, the interior ministry said.

France's budget deficit last year was nearly double the EU's 3 percent ceiling, but 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.

Agencies Via Xinhua