More than 250,000 people marched across France on Thursday as unions, students and yellow vests protested the rising cost of living. The unrest is shutting schools and services, shaking confidence and adding pressure on a government already struggling with its budget.
Photo : REUTERS
Large crowds filled streets across France on Thursday as five major unions held a national day of strikes. Students and people angry about high prices joined them. By early evening, around 600,000 people had marched in almost 70 towns and cities. Sophie Binet, head of the CGT union, said that was only the beginning.
The movement did not begin with unions. It took off in September, when high school students began protesting over weak resources and poor conditions in their schools. Over the weeks, workers joined in, and so did the revived yellow-vest movement, which first rose up years ago against the high cost of living. The unions now say they want to push the protests to a new level.
The mood has turned tense more than once. On 17 October, violence broke out in several cities, and more than 2,000 shops were looted and historic buildings set on fire. Since then, union leaders say marches have been kept out of central Paris.
What people are demanding
Pay is at the heart of it. The minimum wage, called the Smic, stands at €12.31 an hour, which comes to €1,478 a month after tax. The CFDT, France’s biggest union, wants a rise of at least €100 a month after tax. Its leader, Marylise Léon, said the minimum wage is not the only thing that needs to go up. She would be happy to see 800,000 people on the streets, a turnout last reached on 17 October.
Students are pushing a broader message. Alice De Brito of the Unef student union said the fight is now about all of France’s public services, and not only education.
Disruption across the country
The strike hit daily life in many ways. Schools, hospitals and public transport were affected, and the Eiffel Tower and some rooms at the Louvre closed. The education ministry said 16% of teachers walked out, while unions said more than one in four high schools were disrupted, along with most universities. Oil refinery workers were asked to stop production, and France was expected to import more electricity than it produced because of problems at nuclear plants.
Police on alert
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez sent 70,000 police onto the streets and promised an extremely firm response to any violence. Some trouble did occur. In Lyon, a car was set on fire near a bridge over the Rhône as hundreds of radical left “black bloc” protesters clashed with officers. In Rennes, the local prefect said masked people had gathered in front of the main union march.
In Paris, the march was allowed to enter the city centre, though not on the route the unions wanted. That path would have taken them close to the National Assembly, the Élysée Palace and the prime minister’s residence.
What the government has offered
The government has tried to calm tempers without big spending. It released 10 million barrels of diesel from strategic reserves to bring fuel costs down, and promised students it will reform the unpopular Parcoursup university admissions platform and replace it by 2028. It also plans to send about 3,000 fully qualified teachers who have not yet started work to fill gaps, cut class sizes, add more staff next year and offer €4 billion in loans for school repairs.
Reuters reports that ministers are considering a rise in the minimum wage. Even so, they have resisted wide-ranging measures because they are struggling to keep the budget deficit under control.
A political and financial squeeze
The unrest is also hurting the economy. Household confidence fell in October to its lowest since June 2013, and business confidence has taken a hit as well. Higher energy prices linked to the Iran war are adding to the pressure.
The politics are tricky too. The minority government is trying to pass spending cuts for its 2027 budget in a deeply divided parliament, and it could be toppled by opposition parties if it cannot reach a deal with some of them. Investors have grown more nervous about France’s finances. Last month the yield on the 10-year government bond reached 5.14 percent, the highest since 2002.